AOL 90
by Saturday
Summary: Greetings! My name is Adrienne James, I am sixteen years old, and this story is not about me. [rated for slash, swearing, and Racetrack Higgins talking to the statues at the New York Public libary]
1. Prologue: Adrienne

Author's Note: Heh heh, this is STRANGE. Please R&R!!  
  
Disclaimer: I own Adrienne, Spot's mother and his dog, and Race's family.  
  
*****  
  
Prologue  
  
*****  
  
Greetings! My name is Adrienne James, I am sixteen years old, and this story is not about me. I am simply condemned to be the narrator for the prologue --- and probably the epilogue too, if there will be one --- on account that I was present during some of the events.  
  
I had written down a while back what I was going to say, but I must have lost the sheet somewhere along the way, so I'm just going to wing it and hope it'll turn out alright.  
  
Allow me to set the scene: Gabriel "Spot" Conlon lived in a large house in Brooklyn Heights, NYC, with his mother Eliza Conlon and his dog Krypto (who was named after Clark Kent's dog, you guessed correctly). He was my best friend and an extremely complicated guy. Sometimes I seriously suspected he was really a girl going through PMS or something.  
  
Anthony "Racetrack" Higgins lived in an apartment in the Lower East Side in Manhattan. His family was huge --- twin nineteen-year-old brother and sister Gino and Lia, six-year-old brother Angelo, mother Isabelle (whom I am not allowed to tell the age of) and father Este (whom I am also not allowed to tell the age of) --- all of them Italian, loud, and funny, squished into a small apartment in Little Italy. Sheesh. No wonder this kid was going insane.  
  
"I don't have any pets, and I'm glad. There are too many people in this house anyway," he once said to me.  
  
Whatever. His funeral.  
  
So both of these guys were big Harrison Ford fans --- Indiana Jones, especially --- and met at an Indiana Jones chat room. I know, I know, you're probably thinking "ooh, they met at a chat room, Spot's a rapist!" but I assure you he is not.  
  
Well --- at least I don't think so.  
  
Is he?  
  
Shit, maybe I have been hanging out with a rapist all my life! He did have that weird phase when he refused to eat anything but jellybeans ... But ANYWAY, even if Spot is a rapist, that is not what the story is about.  
  
Well, here it is: the story of Spot and Race and their internet-based relationship.  
  
And guess what? I remembered my dramatic ending to the prologue that I had written out a while ago! Here it is:  
  
So I guess the best place to start is the beginning.  
  
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN! So --- yeah, here we go. Now we are going to start. At the beginning. 


	2. Chapter One: Racetrack

Author's Note: Did you really think you could get away with a whole story without ANY Nirvana lyrics? Ha!  
  
Disclaimer: I'm out of clever disclaimers. I don't own anything and I never will, so please leave me alone and let me wallow in my misery!  
  
*****  
  
Chapter One --- Chocolate Chip Cookies  
  
*****  
  
"RUBBER DUCKY, YOU'RE THE ONE! YOU MAKE BATHTIME LOTS OF FUN! RUBBER DUCKY, I'M AWFULLY FOND OF YOU! BOO-BOO-BEE-DOO!"  
  
"WITH THE LIGHTS OUT, IT'S LESS DANGEROUS! HERE WE ARE NOW, ENTERTAIN US! I FEEL STUPID AND CONTAGIOUS! HERE WE ARE NOW, ENTERTAIN US!"  
  
"CON TE PARTRIÒ! PAESI CHE NON HO MAI ... VEDUTO E VISSUTO CON TE, ADESSO SÌ LI VIVRÒ! CON TO PARTRIÒ ... SU NAVI PER MARI CHE!"  
  
I'm really not surprised the neighbors complain so much. Honestly, if I lived near our apartment, I would have poured kerosene down all of our throats in the night by now. We are a rather loud family, and for some reason all the noise gets on people's nerves.  
  
At the moment, my six-year-old brother Angelo had managed to barricade himself in his room and had that moron Raffi blasting through his little blue plastic CD-player. Gino and Lia, both nineteen, had Nirvana playing full-volume from their shared bedroom as they "did their homework". And, as usual, Mama was playing her boring Italian opera as she cooked dinner. All in all, the combined effect of the three different types of music was ... interesting.  
  
And me? Well I was lying on my bed, nursing a severe headache and wondering whether I had the willpower to actually get out of bed and across my rather small room to close my door.  
  
I soon realized that I did not have that much willpower.  
  
I forced myself to roll over and sort of wiggle from my bed to the desk where my computer was. Maybe Spot would be on.  
  
I took off my away message and jumped a foot in the air as an IM box appeared on my screen. (I couldn't hear the little IM chime; I'm sure you can guess why.) "You have received an Instant Message from RedSuspendahs99. Would you like to accept?"  
  
I moved my mouse over and clicked "Accept".  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: dude, have you ever blown up a cookie in the microwave?  
  
I laughed. Typical. This kid was a riot. I managed, using my wiggling technique, to get into my chair without actually standing up or putting in that much effort. I have made laziness into an art.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: well I inflated a marshmallow once, but my mom got really pissed and made me throw it out.  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: I'm hoping my mom isn't coming home anytime soon  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: the whole kitchen smells like shit  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: lol!  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: I was thinking it would be all warm and gooey  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: I was wrong  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: what?  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: the cookie, the kitchen, or your mom?  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: all three, actually  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: *no comment*  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: lol  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: I actually meant the cookie ...  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: good :-)  
  
Spot and I were in an unusual situation. You see, we met about a month ago at an Indiana Jones Chat Room and have kept in contact ever since. Unfortunately, he's a completely paranoid lunatic and refuses to reveal any personal information to me about his life, besides his nickname: Spot. Strange name, but what's not to love? Besides, I should feel honored that he actually managed to find the guts to tell me that much. His mother is a little overprotective and I think it has gotten to him. Must be an only child thing.  
  
So I decided that I wouldn't tell him any personal information about ME until he told me anything about HIM. This certainly limits our conversation topics, but he's an interesting fellow so we find enough to talk about.  
  
I told him my nickname, Racetrack, instead of Anthony. I'm not particularly fond of my real name, and there was NO WAY I was going to let Spot call me that. He would torture me until the end of the world.  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: dammit, we're out of that Fantastik crap I need to clean the kitchen with  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: use nail polish remover, it works  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: in the microwave?  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: trust me  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: lol  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: brb  
  
The phone rang in the kitchen, probably the neighbors getting fed up with all the noise. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" had ended now, but the album was continuing so the noise hadn't really lessened. And of course, Raffi and Andrea Bochelli (the Italian opera dude) seriously just DON'T STOP SINGING. The CDs go on forever.  
  
//ReddSuspendahs99: we don't have any nail polish remover  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: my mom doesn't wear any nail polish  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: no sisters?  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: nah, and I'm glad  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: but if you had a sister, Spot dear, you wouldn't be in such a fix as you are now  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: don't make assumptions like that! I happen to have a best friend who claims to be female, and I have never once seen her wearing nail polish!  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: I'm sorry, Spot, I'll watch my stereotypes from now on  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: oui, monsieur  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: take French, I'm assuming?  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: oui, monsieur  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: moi aussi.  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: oui, monsieur  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: ok, stop saying that  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: sorry dude :D  
  
I jumped a foot in the air again when another IM box appeared on my screen. "You have received an Instant Message from BambiBaby11. Would you like to accept?"  
  
"AAAAAH!" I yelled. "NO --- NOT BAMBI!! I THOUGHT I BLOCKED HER!! NO!" And hastily I clicked "Refuse".  
  
Bambi Contrada could be considered my stalker. She goes to Brentwood High with me and literally CLINGS to my arm between classes. I can't get her to leave me alone! She's like a LEECH (a leach with big boobs and lots of make up, might I add) and---  
  
"You have received an Instant Message from BambiBaby11. Would you like to accept?"  
  
"I ALREADY TOLD YOU, NO!" I yelled at the computer, and clicked "Refuse" again.  
  
"You have received an Instant Message from BambiBaby11. Would you like to accept?"  
  
This wasn't working. Might as well get this over with ... I squeezed my eyes shut and clicked on the "Accept" button.  
  
It took me several minutes to finally open my eyes.  
  
//BambiBaby11: What's cookin', good lookin'?  
  
//BambiBaby11: Race?  
  
//BambiBaby11: Racey, where are you??  
  
//BambiBaby11: Are you avoiding me?????  
  
Yes.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: Nah, I was just going to the bathroom.  
  
//BambiBaby11: Oh that's so CUTE!!!  
  
Aaaah! No, it isn't!! I quickly minimized her IM and went over to Spot's.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: would you be alarmed if a girl thought it was cute when you peed?  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: lmao!  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: depends on the situation ... why?  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: Bambi just IMed me again  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: duuuuuuude!!!  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: I know, I'm totally dying!  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: just tell her to fuck off and that you're not interested  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: already did  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: she said that if I wasn't careful, I'd lose her  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: lmao  
  
I went back to Bambi's IM box.  
  
//BambiBaby11: so what's going on at your place, Racey-baby?  
  
AAAAAH! I fell off my chair. She did NOT just call me Racey-baby.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: just call me Racetrack, Bambi  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: on second thought, call me Anthony  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: I don't want you using my precious nickname  
  
//BambiBaby11: oh Racey, you're so funny!  
  
No I'm NOT! I was being completely serious! I decided to do an experiment.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: die, evil bitch  
  
//BambiBaby11: lol!!  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: your boobs are fake and you wear too much make-up  
  
//BambiBaby11: lol!!!! stop it, my tummy hurts from laughing so hard!  
  
She's from Mars. There is no other possible explanation.  
  
//BambiBaby11: hee hee  
  
//BambiBaby11: so Race, are you doing anything Saturday night?  
  
No.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: yes.  
  
//BambiBaby11: what about Sunday?  
  
No, not really.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: yep, I'm busy pretty much all week  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: I'm always busy! I never have ANY FREE TIME to go out with people! EVER! I AM ALWAYS BUSY!  
  
Okay, maybe I overdid it a little. I was getting fed up. I should just get her to talk to Spot --- he would definitely scare her a little, and then maybe she would leave me alone on IM for a while.  
  
//BambiBaby11: oh that's too bad.  
  
//BambiBaby11: well, sugar, I have to get going  
  
//BambiBaby11: I have to go to my voice lessons  
  
Aah. Voice lessons. Bambi singing. By herself. I seriously pity the teacher.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: bye  
  
I sat there and waited for her screen name to go into parentheses on my Buddy List before relaxing.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: SHE'S GONE!  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: HALLELUJAH!  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: dammit, I hate that woman  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: me too  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: I've never even met her  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: lol  
  
"DINNER TIME!" Mama called.  
  
"WHAT?" Lia yelled.  
  
"DINNER TIME!" Mama repeated, louder.  
  
"WHAT??" Gino yelled.  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: I should probably go  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: yeah, me too  
  
//EmusRockMySocks: talk to you later  
  
//RedSuspendahs99: bye  
  
I signed off and turned off my computer. Mama was now pounding on Angelo's door, screaming that he was going to get a smack on his bottom if he didn't open up and turn off the music. Angelo either couldn't hear her or simply wouldn't hear her --- in any case, the door wasn't opening and the music continued.  
  
Then Papa came home from work and started singing along with Andrea Bochelli. "CON TEEEEEEEEE PARTRIÒ! PAESIIIIIIIII CHE NON HO MAAAAAAI ... VEDUTO E VISSUTO CON TEEEEEE, ADESSO SÌ LI VIVRÒ! CON TE PARTRIÒ ... SU NAVI PER MARI CHEEEEEEEE!"  
  
That's about when the neighbors called again.  
  
*****  
  
Shoutouts!!!  
  
GLimmer Conlon O'Leary: Aaah, thank you so much!!! Hug for you, you totally made my day! :D Thanks for reviewing!! (And by the way, love your signature: "Love 'n' Mush pants". That's just the greatest!)  
  
Repeat: Wmp!!! No, Spot is not really a rapist, but I'm sure he would love to join your Irish Mafia gang. He wants a llama so he can battle Hannah's llama, could you fix that up for him with your connections? lol, thanks for reviewing, I love ya!  
  
Liams Kitten: I know, Spot/Race RULES! This is my first one so wish me luck on it! (Aah, I just typed "wish me lick" by accident ... I think all this slash has gone to my head) llamas! Hooray hooray hooray, I love llamas!!! They are most definitely "bomb diggity". lol, thanks for reviewing!  
  
Sapphy: Aaah, I love you too! :-) I love Harrison Ford too, he's damn HOT! (Well he is in Indiana Jones ... I'm not so sure about him in real live) I'm sorry I forgot Han Solo ... I am perfectly miserable about it, if it makes you feel any better. lol, thanks for the review!!!  
  
*****  
  
Author's Note: Well, there it is. It's fun being a compulsive writer! Dunno what I think of this chapter ... I'm sorry if it was difficult to tell between the IM conversations and real writing, but I don't know how to do italics (because I am blonde at heart) and fanfiction.net screwed up my formatting so --- yeah. Please review; I'll love you forever!! (And if you know how to do italics, could you please tell me? Because then I would WORSHIP you forever!)  
  
-Saturday 


	3. Chapter Two: Spot

**Author's Note: **First of all, I must ask you to get down on your knees and **BOW TO TROLLEY AND KATTABEAN**, because _now, _because of them ... **_I CAN DO BOLD AND ITALICS!  YAY YAY YAY!!!_**  I am _soooo_ incredibly excited.  Don't be surprised if _everything_ in this chapter is in **bold** and _italics_; I'm having way too much fun with this.

**Disclaimer: **You know the drill.

*****

I have possibly the most boring life in the universe (besides that of a fruit fly, but let's not get into that).  My Saturday mornings are usually spent DOING HOMEWORK.  Is that not the most tragic thing you have ever heard?

Well this morning, I decided to do something NEW and EXCITING!  I was going to WALK THE DOG!!!

"Mom, I'm walking Krypto, k?" I called as I got out the leash.

"Mm-hmm."  She was in the office, working for a change.  I clipped the leash onto Krypto's collar and the pair of us headed down the hall.

"Gabriel?" she said suddenly.  I stopped in front of the open door to the office.  She didn't look up from her work.  "Be careful.  And don't invite your friend --- Adrienne James? --- to go with you.  She worries me sometimes."

"K, mom, see you later."  I left our large house and made my way over to Adrienne's house to invite her to come with me.

Adrienne is an interesting person.  She's the kind of girl who plays about ten different sports, never wears anything but jeans and a t-shirt, and sings in an extremely off key voice in the shower.  (And I have actual PROOF of that; one time I called her house to ask her about some homework assignment, and her younger brother Teddy answered the phone.  He told me that Adrienne was in the shower, and I could clearly hear in the background "ARABIAN NIIIIIIIIIIIGHTS, LIKE ARABIAN DAAAAAAAAAYS!  MORE OFTEN THAN NOT ARE HOTTER THAN HOT IN A LOT OF GOOD WAAAAAAYS!"  It was hysterical.  I'm still teasing her about it.)

I buzzed her in her apartment and asked if she would come down and walk the dog with me.  "It's a crisp, blustery autumn day!" I sang.  "I would break down and cry if you were to miss it!"

"Spot, you are the weirdest person I have ever met," she said through the speaker.

"I know.  But will you come out?"

"Yeah, sure.  Be there in a minute."

I then sat down on the sidewalk and watched as Krypto lifted his leg to somebody's bicycle and peed on it.  Adrienne appeared after a minute or two, wearing a gray t-shirt with "THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS" across the chest and a pair of blue jeans.  She's really very pretty, with long dark hair and gray eyes.  If she wanted to she could be very popular.  I tell her she's too socially oriented.  She tells me I am anti-social.  We're best friends.

"Ah, what a lovely crisp, blustery autumn day!" she exclaimed, grinning at me.

"Don't mock me.  You would never have come out had I not gotten all poetic on you," I said seriously.

She laughed.  "Well, where to, Emily Dickinson?"

"Where do you THINK we are going?"

"I honestly have no idea."  She knew.  She just likes to be a retard.  

The three of us walked down the street, passing back and fourth Adrienne's little pack of M&M's that she had brought.  Over the course of the walk, Krypto stopped to pee four times and sniffed some other dog's butt twice.  I tell you, my dog is a pervert with an overactive bladder.  But I love him anyway.

We stopped in front of "Zach's Musical Shop" (creative name, eh?) and I tied Krypto's leash to the bike rack.  "Never fear, dear Krypto, we shall return after Spot has had some good drooling time!" Adrienne told him dramatically, scratching behind his ears.  I chuckled and dragged her into the store.

"Back again, Gabe?" said Anthony, one of the guys who works at the place.  He's a rather vertically challenged Italian with a sarcastic sense of humor and an ever-present smile.  I like that kid a lot; he doesn't seem to mind that I show up here so much and never buy anything.

"Yep."  I crossed the room and kneeled before my baby.  The most beautiful guitar I have ever seen in my life.  Adrienne kneeled solemnly beside me, and the pair of us bowed our heads and put our hands on our hearts.

The guitar's body was curved in such a way that it almost looked _sexy_, the black paint gleaming where the light hit it through its glass case.  Its neck was perfectly angled and the frets were polished bronze.  It had been true love from the first moment I had seen her, three months ago.

I turned to Adrienne and Tony.  "She will be mine.  Oh yes, she will be mine." [1]

Tony smiled.  "So ... ya gonna buy 'er this time?"

"Nah, don't have enough money yet."  I stood up and ran my fingers through my hair.  "Do ya think ... I could hold her?  Just for a second?"

"Sure --- just be careful," he chuckled, taking a key ring out of the pocket of his blue jeans and unlocking the case.  He gently removed the guitar and handed her to me.

I sighed dramatically as I felt the smooth body in my hands.  "I love this guitar," I told him.  Adrienne laughed.  I pulled the strap over my shoulders and began to play --- just for a second --- I had to try it.

I could tell Tony was impressed.  "You're not bad, kid."

I smiled and handed him back the guitar.  My mom "doesn't approve" of guitars.  She says that they are loud and raucous and she will NOT have her only son playing one.  So I borrowed some of Adrienne's beginner's guitar tapes and her old guitar (she used to play but had decided she would rather play the drums) and practiced it at every opportunity quietly in my room.

I don't think my mom knows.  She might.  It's hard to tell with mothers in general, but it's even harder to tell with my mom.

Tony placed the guitar back in its case and locked it up.  I gazed longingly at it for a second, before Adrienne nudged me in the ribs.  "Krypto's hopping around; it looks like he's trying to see up that lady's skirt ... we should probably go."

I laughed out loud.  "Yeah, see ya later, Tony."

"Bye, Gabe.  Keep saving your money."  He winked.

I didn't blush at all.  _Really, _Ididn't.  

As Adrienne and I left the store, we passed a girl who was just entering.  "You asked me to call you Anthony, so I will!!!" she shrieked as she came in.  I glanced back at Tony through the window, who winced as the girl came in.  Poor kid.  Who the hell was that girl, anyway?  I looked her over.  She was kind of pretty, with glossy blonde hair and big blue eyes, but she had a relatively artificial look to her.  Too much make-up or something.

_I wonder if those boobs are fake..._

"Spot?"

I looked at Adrienne, who was smiling.  "Checkin' her out, eh?"

"I was NOT!" I scoffed.

And I wasn't.  The weird thing was, that girl was exactly how I had imagined Bambi.  Eww.

*

Only Ferris Bueller could really put into words the general feeling of my home.  It's like a museum; it's very big and very cold and you're not allowed to touch anything.  You'd think that a divorced mother and a single son wouldn't need such a large house, but mom always liked being ostentatious.  It kind of sucks.

I could hear the classical music coming from downstairs.  I must be the only kid in the universe without a CD player in my room.  Someday I'm going to get a room that's actually _mine_, not my mom's.  Dude, that would be nice.

I turned on the computer and signed on to AOL.  I seriously needed to talk to Race, I was very VERY bored.

**RedSuspendahs99:** I saw a Bambi look-alike today.

**EmusRockMySocks:** me too

**EmusRockMySocks:** except it wasn't a look-alike

**EmusRockMySocks:** she's taken to stalking me on the weekends as well

**RedSuspendahs99:** lol

**RedSuspendahs99:** duuude that really sucks

**EmusRockMySocks:** I know...

"GABRIEL CONLON!" my mother shrieked from the other room.  "_WHY_ DOES THE MICROWAVE SMELL LIKE NAILPOLISH REMOVER??"

Damn.

**RedSuspendahs99:** gotta go

**RedSuspendahs99:** I think my mom just found out about the chocolate chip cookie ordeal

*****

Shoutouts!!!

**Shadowlands: **AND WHERE THE JOURNEY MAY LEAD YOU, LET THIS PRAYER BE YOUR GUIDE!  THOUGH IT MAY TAKE YOU SO FAR AWAY, ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR PRIIIIIDE!!  Dude, _every time_ I see your name that song starts playing in my head.  I'm assuming that is why you chose that name, right?  It's very cool.  Anyway.  Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm glad you like it!  (And I am a big Spot/Race fan too, this is my first one ... I hope I'm doing ok!)

**Hope: **I'm glad you like it!!!  I love rubber duckies too, they are extremely fun.  (And Veggie Tales!  WOO HOO!)  I shall try my best not to make this a Mary Sue, they irritate me to no end.  Thank you for the review!

**nani at 12 o'clock: **"stalkers are freaky but I don't think it's their fault". LOL!  I like you a lot ... I am SO SORRY about the fact that I put down Raffi as singing Rubber Ducky instead of Ernie!!!  I feel perfectly miserable now if it makes you feel any better.  I must have spaced out or something.  But I watch Sesame Street too, don't worry. ;-)

**studentnumber24601: **I am very happy this made you giggle! (lol) You're the second person to point out to me that I said Raffi sings Rubber Duckie, and I am horrified!  How COULD I have forgotten??  I actually don't think I really _forgot_, just spaced out (as usual).  Thank you for correcting me, though, and thank you for the review!!  And do not feel dorky, I watch little kid shows all the time (particularly Arthur, lol).

**kattabean: **_THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!  I CAN DO ITALICS!! _lol --- it would be really ironic right now if the italics didn't work.  But thank you for showing me, I will love you forever.  I'm glad you like my story, thanks for reviewing!

**Shot Hunter: **Aaah --- dude, this is ironic.  I was reading your review over again to write your shoutout and you were like "hey blondes know how to do stuff" and I, the so-called brilliant brunette, started swinging my legs back and fourth and slammed my foot against the wall.  It was really loud and really painful.  lol --- actually, my two best friends are blondes and they are both in honors math and French classes and total geniuses.  So I honestly have nothing against blondes. :-)  Thank you for reviewing!!

**Liams Kitten: **Dude, you are FUNNY!!!  Andrea Bochelli and Queen ... wow.  lol.  Yes, I hate Bambi too and give you full permission to kick her as much as you want.  That's what she's there for, after all. :-)  Thank you so much for the review, you cracked me up!

**Sapphy: **"And who, in God's name, names their child after a cartoon deer?!"  LOL!!!  I really have no idea; I just took my mom's old baby naming book and chose the most obnoxious name I could find.  And by the way, I am not miserable anymore.  (I was picturing you doing a dance on a table, lol)  Thank you for reviewing, I love you!!

**hilby: **Aaah, thank you so much!!  I love Harrison Ford too, he is very very hot.  I'm glad you like my story, thanks for reviewing!!

**Scout73: **Yeah, I've got a bit of a thing for Nirvana if you haven't noticed.  I'm really really glad you like this, thanks for reviewing!!  "I hope ur muses don't ditch u! (like mine did...dirty rotten scabbers...all of them...*glares out into the distance and continues mumbling*) LOL! God, I _really_ like you!

**Trolley: ***starts hopping around* _I can do italics, I can do italics!!  _My friend is gonna be so jealous, lol.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!  I love you too (and Indy and opera --- to an extent --- and Rubber Ducky and Nirvana)! YAY! lol, thanks for reviewing. 

*********

**Author's Note: **[1] Free punching bag in the shape of Bambi Contrada's head to anybody who can tell me what movie that's from!!  Thanks to all readers and reviewers, I love you all!!!  Please leave a review!

-Saturday


	4. Chapter Three: Racetrack

**Author's Note:** I apologize to anyone who is having difficulty reading this.  Fanfiction.net has been behaving very strangely lately, and it is driving me OUT OF MY MIND so please be patient.

**Disclaimer: **I own Bambi (goddammit...) and Racetrack's teachers and family.  That's it.  Please don't sue. :D

*****

Chapter Four --- Throw Away Your Television 

*****

Have you seen "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"?  Good movie ... You know that part when Indy's trying to teach his students and all the girls are all oozy and sighing, and then he glances at one of them and she closes her eyes and "Love You" is written on her eyelids?

Well that's pretty much what happens to Mr. Hudson at our school.

I promise: ALL the girls at Brentwood High are hopelessly in love with him, and it's not hard to figure out why.  He is a _very_ good-looking guy --- sandy blonde hair, _oh-so-romantic_ chocolate brown eyes, wide white smile --- and (luckily) he doesn't wear those weird Harry Potter glasses Indy wore when he was teaching.

And he teaches Social Studies, of course.  Blah.  One would assume that it would be the perfect class for everyone to sit and drool as he rambles on and on about some old dead dude nobody cares about anymore, but he's always been a more interesting teacher.  He likes to make us do the work instead, so he has discussions and stuff.  At first all the girls in my class were bummed out because it's hard to drool when he's not the only person talking, but then they realized this was the perfect opportunity to actually FLIRT.

Blah.  It's disgusting.

On the other hand ... Bambi is in this class.  :D  She finally has somebody ELSE to focus her energy on.  Boy, do I love Social Studies.

Monday morning, Mr. Hudson got up in front of the class and leaned casually against his desk.  (Insert oozy sighs from girls HERE.)  "Alright, you guys are gonna hate me," he began (insert unconvinced "pffft"s from girls HERE), "but I was skiing with my friends over the weekend" (insert more oozy sighs from girls HERE) "and I didn't get around to correcting your quizzes."  (Insert chorus of "That's ok, Mr. Hudson!"s from girls HERE.)  "So I'm going to give you this reading on Daoism and I'm gonna ask you to read it and answer the questions on the board.  Sound good?"  (Insert chorus of "Yes, Mr. Hudson!"s from girls HERE.)

Yeah, that's my Social Studies class for you.

Boy, do I hate Social Studies.

Mr. Hudson sat down on his desk, humming "This Love" by Maroon 5.  The girls sat and gaped at his amazingly sexy half-smile and the way he ran his fingers through his hair as he worked --- _Gosh, Betsy, I never knew someone could look so HOT while correcting a test! Hee hee..._ --- before finally realizing that they had WORK to do. _Oh yeah!  Silly me, I almost forgot!  So Betsy, what _is_ Daoism again?_

I glanced over at my best friends Blink Parker and Mush Meyers.  They pantomimed hanging themselves, and I don't blame them; they are seated directly in the middle of a swooning group of giggling girls, isolated from all other forms of male human life in the classroom.  *Shudder...*

I finished reading the Daoism sheet and answered the questions.  I got the main idea; some dead old Chinese man wanted people to ditch society and live in nature and ponder the meaning of life.  Mm-hmm.  GASP!  That would mean I would have to give up IM!  I WOULD HAVE TO GIVE UP SPOT! NOOOOOOOOOO!

But then again, I could probably jump into a bush every time Bambi walked by.  Good way to avoid her ... But she would have no make-up!  That would mean I would see her in her true form! AAAAAAAH!  SEE NO EVIL SEE NO EVIL SEE NO EVIL SEE NO---

"Mr. Hudson, that was a _fascinating_ worksheet!" squealed Amber Johnson.  The rest of the girls in the class glared at her.  Duuuude, if looks could kill...

"Well I'm glad you think so, Miss Johnson," said Mr. Hudson without looking up.

"I think I might just convert to Daoism when I get home!" Erin White added happily.  Her boyfriend, Brett Maynard, threw a pencil at her.

"Yeah!" Bambi giggled.  "That whole part about Daoism was absolutely _captivating_!"

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, another brilliant saying from Bambi Contrada.  Mr. Hudson looked up at her.  So did the rest of the class.  "I'm ... glad you enjoyed it," he said slowly, one eyebrow raised in an oh-so-sexy manner.

Ew.  Just kidding.  Didn't just say that, didn't just say that... 

Bambi, unaware of what an idiot she was, smiled at him and twirled a lock of her glossy blonde hair around one finger.  Mr. Hudson shook his head and looked back at the test, kind of bemused.

Blink grabbed Mush's sweatshirt that was sitting on the back of his chair and attempted to strangle himself with it.

*

"THROW AWAY YOUR TELEVISION!" Blink chanted.  "TIME TO MAKE THIS CLEAN DECISION!  MASTER WAITS FOR ITS COLLISION NOW!"

Mush, Skittery, Itey and I all hit the table to the beat.  It was lunchtime, time for our daily Red Hot Chili Peppers ritual.  Ever since Skittery gave Blink "By the Way" for his birthday, he has been singing the Red Hot Chili Peppers 24/7.  We decided to make him happy and actually accompany him this time.  We have the beat down, dude; each guy has a separate part and we're pretty good.

"IT'S A REPEAT OF A STORY TOLD!  IT'S A REPEAT AND IT'S GETTING OLD!"

"DAMN RIGHT IT'S GETTING OLD!" yelled Erin White.  God I hate that girl.  Little bitch.

I don't think Blink even noticed her.  "THROW AWAY YOUR TELEVISION!  MAKE A BREAK BIG INTERMISSION!  RECREATE YOUR SUPERVISION NOW!  IT'S A REPEAT OF A STORY TOLD!  IT'S A REPEAT AND IT'S GETTING OLD!"

"YEE-HAW!" yelled Mush.

"Yee-haw...?"  Skittery stopped drumming.

"THROW AWAY YOUR TELEVISION!  SALIVATE TO REPETITION!  LEVIATE THIS ILL CONDITION---"

"Blink?"

"Yeah?"

"It's over."

"Oh." 

Itey leaned back in his chair and covered his face with his hands.  "Aw _man_ I'm glad to have real food again," he said through his fingers.  "My mom can NOT cook, believe me."

"So wait --- which guy over there is the new teacher for English?" I asked Skittery.

"Oh --- that guy next to Hudson."

"Where's Hudson?"

"I found a BEETLE in my mashed potatoes last night!  Can you believe that?  A BEETLE!" bellowed Itey.

"Itey, PLEASE," said Mush, cringing.

"I think she's trying to POISON me!" Itey continued.  "She told me she made chicken soup, but I don't' think chickens are supposed to be tinged green---"

"He's over by Jennings --- see him?  He's talking to the new teacher, see?" Skittery said to me.

"Did anybody manage to get any ketchup?  I forgot," asked Blink loudly.

"---with little BLACK PATCHES all over it!" said Itey.   "I think it was still alive!  It WAVED at me!"

"Aw Itey!" Mush groaned.

"And the FISH was absolutely REVOLTING---"

I did my best to shout over the noise, "THE REALLY TALL GUY WITH THE BIG NOSE?  IS _THAT_ THE NEW TEACHER??" 

"KETCHUP??" bellowed Blink unhappily.

"ITEY, STOP!  YOU DON'T HAVE TO IMITATE YOUR DINNER!!!" Mush cried.

Skittery, Blink and I all looked over to see Itey making the most bizarre face I had ever seen.  "That's disgusting, Itey," said Skittery.

"I know," said Itey unconcernedly.  "Just making a point..."

Before we knew it, lunch was over and we were all being ushered back out of the cafeteria to continue our day.  Except now my ears were ringing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and I knew exactly what the new English teacher looked like.  It's funny how a small thing like lunch can so dramatically affect your life.

*

**EmusRockMySocks: **the world I love the tears I drop to be part of the wave can't stop, ever wonder if it's all for you?

**RedSuspendahs99:** ahh, good song...

**EmusRockMySocks:** listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers?

**RedSuspendahs99: **are you kidding me? my mom would NEVER let me listen to that shit

**RedSuspendahs99: **my best friend, on the other hand, listens to them all the time

**RedSuspendahs99: **so I get my daily dose, don't worry

**EmusRockMySocks: **lol

**EmusRockMySocks:** good

**RedSuspendahs99:** soooooooo

**EmusRockMySocks:** what's up?

**RedSuspendahs99:** absolutely nothing. bored out of my mind. as usual.

**EmusRockMySocks:** no amusing anecdotes for me?

**RedSuspendahs99:** none whatsoever

**EmusRockMySocks:** ah

**EmusRockMySocks: **well then I shall continue to sing the Red Hot Chili Peppers

**RedSuspendahs99: **wait

**EmusRockMySocks:** very well then

**RedSuspendahs99:** this is probably gonna sound really out of the blue

**RedSuspendahs99:** but

**EmusRockMySocks:** buuuuuuut...

**RedSuspendahs99:** well I was just wondering if you wanna actually MEET sometime

Oh god.

*****

Shoutouts!!!

**GLimmer Conlon O'Leary: **Aww THANK YOU!!  Defiantly ... lol.  Thank you so much for reviewing, I love you!!!  (Oooh and by the way, I wear knee socks too. lol)

**nani at 12 o'clock: **I love Aladdin too, my friends and I unashamedly say to people that he is HOT!  I think we're the only people in the world who think that ... but that song ROCKS! lol, thanks for reviewing!!!

**Trolley: **Damn right you helped someone.  Look how organized my story is now!!  (Err ... don't comment on that part.)  Oooooh I like horny _and_ corn dogs too!  Too bad you don't like slash, but I am SO INCREDIBLY FLATTERED that you're reading my story anyway.  Happy sigh.  (My new goal in life: to make you like slash. lol)  Thank you for reviewing!!!

**kattabean: **Spot sounds like you?  That amuses me for some reason.  Spot is such a girl in my fanfics, it's not even funny. lol, thank you so much for reviewing!

**Shot Hunter: **Yay, I love blondes! lol ... thank you so much for the review!  I'm glad you like my plotline.  It's a pain in the ass to write, though, and make sure nobody slips and says someone's name or something ... lol. :-)

**SpotLover421:** Yes, Spot/Race is extremely yummy.  I don't think I write it very yumm ... illy?  Because I don't make them flirt that much, but ... yesh.  That yummilly totally threw off my train of thought.  It's not a real word, is it?  Well then I'll make it a word, dammit!!!  Anyway.  My cousin blew up a cookie in the microwave when he was over at our house, and the whole house smelled like shit for a day or two.  Not cool.  (Of course, I thought it was really funny at the time.  I mean dude, what could be better than a cookie exploding and yucky smells?  YEAH! ... I was like eight, I was such a boy. lol)  Anyway, thanks for the review!!!

**Missa32189:** I actually live in Massachusetts, but my friend lives in California and goes to Brentwood Middle School.  So I got the name from there.  I think I used as a last name in a story, too ... I have a Brentwood issue, lol.  Anyway, thanks for reviewing!!  (And I love Ferris Bueller, too ... awesome movie.)

**Scout73:** HOORAY!  Nirvana RULES!  lol, I am so glad you listened to them, that makes me very happy.  (And while you're at it, listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers because they are WONDERFUL...*sigh*)  Anyway, I am glad your muses came back to you!  My muses have been exceptionally nice to me lately, especially Race (which is a RARE occurrence).  Thank you for reviewing!! :-)

**Repeats: **You know, I'll give you a punching bag in the shape of Bambi's head just because I love you, Rae.  (The movie was Wayne's World, just to let you know.)  In your review you asked when they will find out who the other one is, so here is my answer: SOON.  Hopefully.  Unless Racetrack chickens out.  Hmm.

**studentnumber24601: **I just started singing the number in your name to the tune of Bingo.  You know, instead of B-I-N-G-O, I was like 2-4-6-0-1!  It was fun.  I'm sorry.  Anyway.  *applauds* Hooray Wayne's World!!!  Your punching bag should arrive in the mail shortly.  Thank you for reviewing!

**hippie-girl13492:** Oooh, I can sing the numbers in your name too!!  (Sorry, you probably have no idea what I am talking about; read the shoutout before yours.)  Anyway, thank you for the review!  Made me very happy, I'm glad you like it!

**Sapphy:** Aaaaaand, last but not least, SAPPHY!  *crowd bursts into wild applause* I love Aladdin too, awesome movie.  AND WAYNE'S WORLD!  PUNCHING BAG FOR YOU!  AND DON'T STOP DRINKING THAT MOUNTAIN DEW!  WOO-HOO!!  Ahem.  Thank you for reviewing, love you too!!!

*****

**Author's Note: **THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR REVIEWING AAAAAAAAAH!  "I LOVE YOU ALL WITH AFFECTION UNSPEAKABLE!"  Oooh, Pirates of Penzance!  I love Kevin Kline.  HE IS MY HEROOOO!  "And did I fail to mention that you shall all be our heroes?"  Ahhhh, I love that play.  HE IS, HURRAH FOR THE PIRATE KING!  YEEEEEE-HAW!

-Saturday


	5. Chapter Four: Spot

Author'sh Note: I have deshided to do the whole author'sh note in a Sean Connery accent.  Don't you jusht looove the way he talksh?  My friend Alish ish absholutely infatuated with him, it'sh rather pathetic.  But that'sh ok, I love her anyway.  She alsho ish absholutely infatuated with Indiana Jonesh, who wash in the shame movie ash Sean Connery (the Lasht Crushade, Sean played Indy'sh dad).  Shee the connection?  It'sh shurprising, but sometimesh there actually sheems to be shome short of LOGIC in Alish's mind.  Well I'll be!  Ah well, now I'm jusht blabbing and having fun with thish accent.  I shall now shtop rambling and actually begin the shtory, shall I? 

**Disclaimer: **Yeah, I'm done with the accent now.  I really am.  I'll try not to put it in anymore (although you shouldn't be surprised if Adrienne suddenly breaks into Scottish accent now and then, she's a rebel muse and seriously has a mind of her own.)  Anyway I don't own anything except ... Adrienne, I guess.  That's rather sad.  NO WAIT!  I own Teddy, Louie, and Mrs. James!  YES!  OH YEAH, BABY!

*****

Chapter Four – Fedora 

*****

"So you're gonna MEET him???" Adrienne gasped.

"Yeah."

"Like --- actually _MEET_ him??"

"YES!"

"Are you NERVOUS??"

"Well I _wasn't _until you brought the subject up."

"Oh.  Sorry."

"That's ok."

I sucked on my finger.  Adrienne and I had been playing hockey at the rink (and she had beaten me horribly) so now I was nursing a dented ego and a cut finger.  Yes, I somehow managed to cut my finger on the blade of my skate.  Don't ask me how.  I think I forgot I didn't have skate guards on or something...

Adrienne put her skates back into her bag and pulled on her sneakers.  "So you guys are meeting at Tibby's, eh?  And you'll both be wearing your fedoras ... What the hell _is_ a fedora, anyway?" she said after a minute.

"What do you mean what is a fedora???" I gasped.  "Haven't you seen Indiana Jones?"

"Well yes, but I'm not Indiana Jones obsessive compulsive," she said slowly, grinning at me.

I smiled.  "Well, my poor deprived friend, a fedora is the kind of hat Indy wears.  Both Racetrack and I are, as you so adequately put it, 'Indiana Jones obsessive compulsive', so it seemed appropriate."

"Ah, I see."  She put her skates into her bag and put her Yankees baseball cap on over her dark hair.  (A/N: I hate the Yankees.  I'm sorry.  I would have her wearing a Red Sox baseball cap but I think she would get _mobbed_ by angry crowds of New Yorkers the moment she stepped outside ... Adrienne is nutty but she's not THAT insane...) The pair of us left the rink and headed down the sidewalk towards home.  "So you're actually gonna wear that ugly hat in public?" she asked.

"It is NOT ugly!"

"'Tis."

"Leave me alone..."

"Hey look, it's Todd!!"

"Who's Todd?"

"Nobody, I just wanted to say that."

"You know, Adrienne, sometimes I worry..."

"L IS FOR THE WAY YOU LOOK AT MEEEEEEE, O IS FOR THE ONLY ONE I SEEEEEE, V IS VERY VERY EXTRAORDINARY, E IS EVEN MORE THAN AAAAANYONE THAT YOU ADORE AND LOOOO—" 

"What time is it?"

"I dunno, I can't tell time."

"Yes you can, Adrienne, don't give me that bullshit.  You just don't wanna take your hands out of your pockets and check your watch."

"But _Spot_, my pockets are all WARM and it's COLD out!!"

"I seriously doubt that your blue jeans are providing that much insulation."

"Hey, it's better than nothing.  Body heat, y'know?"

"But your jeans are BAGGY, meaning they are not that close to your skin, meaning you are not getting that much body heat!"

"FINE!"

"Fine what?"

"It's quarter past."

"Quarter past what?"

"I'll never tell."

"_Adrienne!_"

"Ok...you can ask yes or no questions."

"Is it quarter past twelve?"

"No."

"Is it later than quarter past twelve?"

"Yes."

"DAMMIT!  I was supposed to be at basketball practice at quarter past twelve!!"

"Spot, it's Saturday.  You don't have practice on Saturday."

"Really?"

"Really really."

"Ah."

"MAN I love Shrek."

"Adrienne?"

"Yeah?"

"WHAT'S THE FREAKIN' TIME???"

"Oh it's quarter past one."

"Oh. Thank you."

"No problem."

"Hey look, it's TODD!"

"Dear God."

"No REALLY this time, honest..."

*

She'd never admit it for the world, but Adrienne hates it at my house.  I understand perfectly; my mom is extremely stiff and rather paranoid and she doesn't like Adrienne at all.  Plus, the whole house is incredibly clean and makes you feel guilty if you don't take off your shoes when you come in.  

Adrienne's apartment is completely different.  Her Burmese Mountain Dog, Louie, will slobber all over your lap the minute you step inside, and her five-year-old brother Teddy will immediately proceed to interrogate anyone who dares enter the house.  "What is your name?" he'll say, narrowing his eyes at you.

You shall promptly give him your full name, middle initial included, or suffer the consequences (and believe me, you don't wanna suffer the consequences...).

"What are your motives upon entering this fortress?" he shall then continue briskly.

You shall promptly answer something along the lines of "to watch 'the Matrix' in Adrienne's room, and no, I'm not going to touch your toy car collection."

"At what time will you be planning on making your departure?" he shall then ask.

You shall promptly answer that you are planning on leaving around three in the afternoon; if you answer any later than five o'clock PM, you shall be shot at with a toy gun.  (I was terrified out of my wits the first time that happened to me, I thought the kid was gonna blow my brains out with a pistol ... and then I realized that it was _plastic_ ... don't laugh, we all have our moments of panic.)

He shall then give you the once-over, eyes still narrowed broodingly.  If he is pleased with your answers, he'll give you a stiff nod of the head and you are free to go.  If he is not pleased ... well, let's not go into details about that. 

Adrienne invited me over after skating to watch 'the Matrix' (aHA!) after we had clarified that the boy she had seen was NOT named Todd after all.  Imagine that!  Of course, I passed Teddy's examination easily because I had gone through it so many times.  You'd think the kid would get tired of the same old routine, but it never changes.  Ever.

"Frankly, I absolutely adore Keanu Reeves," said Adrienne as she took out the DVD.

"I know, dear."

"And I absolutely adore this movie, too."

"I know dear."

She and I sat down on her bed and waited for the movie to come on.  (I just realized that sounds like we just sat there and stared at a blank TV.  We _had_ pressed play, you know, and now we were waiting for the commercials to start.  Sheesh!)

The doorbell rang.  "I'LL GET IT!" yelled Teddy.

"No surprise there," I said to Adrienne.  "That should be Specs and Dutchy."

Yeah, you heard me right.  I think I had you under the impression that Adrienne is my one and only friend.  As a matter of fact, I am actually quite the Mr. Popular at my school.

Ok, maybe I'm not.  But I do have two other friends, Specs David and Dutchy Dudynsky.  The four of us have been friends since kindergarten, when Adrienne and Specs went around telling everybody that they were twins.  (I think they actually believed it, too, considering they were both born in August.  It never occurred to any of us that they had different last names...)

"What are your names?" we heard Teddy said imperiously from the other room.

"Specs A. David."

"Dutchy R. Dudynsky."

"What are your motives upon entering this fortress?"

"LET 'EM COME IN, TED!" Adrienne yelled.  "THEY'RE COMING TO HANG OUT AND WATCH THE MATRIX, THEY'RE LEAVING AT FOUR, AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA TOUCH YOUR CARS!"

"THANK YOU, OH DOMINEERING FIEND!" Teddy bellowed.

"SHUT UP, SQUIRT, OR WHEN MOM GETS HOME I'LL TELL HER ABOUT THAT TIME YOU STOLE ALL THE COOKIES FROM THE COOKIE JAR!" Adrienne yelled calmly. 

"Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar!" Dutchy sang.

"Dutchy stole the cookies from the cookie jar!" Specs sang back.

"Who me?"

"Yes you!"

"Couldn't be!"

"Then who?"

"_Guyyyyyyyyyyy's_!" I whined.  "Get in here and stop singing, the movie's about to start!"

"Are we free to go, officer?" said Specs to Teddy.

"I suppose," said Teddy gloomily.

"Thank ya, sir!"  I didn't even have to see Dutchy to know that he was saluting the five-year-old.  He did it every time ... strange guy, eh?  

So anyway, the two came into Adrienne's bedroom and sat down next to me on the bed.  "Oooh, I love Keanu Reeves!" Dutchy squealed.

"Oh yeah!"  Adrienne reached over my head and slapped him a high-five.

"He's almost as hot as Gabriel Damon, right?" said Specs slyly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, shut up!" Adrienne laughed, throwing a pillow at him.

The guys are always mocking her because she has a thing for Gabriel Damon, who supposedly looks uncannily like me.  I honestly can't see any similarities between us; his eyes are too close together and his nose is bigger than mine.  Dude, those guys really should get their eyes checked.

The pillow fight stopped abruptly when the characteristic symbols of the movie started reeling across the screen.  Trinity's voice came on, calm and slightly eerie --- dammit, I love this movie.

About halfway through the movie, Adrienne's mother came home and demanded that we eat lunch before we all starve to death.  She dragged us out of Adrienne's room and exiled us to the kitchen where we were forced against our will to make sandwiches.  OH HORRORS!

Not really.  We were actually pretty glad to get food, considering none of us had eaten anything since breakfast and it was two-thirty in the afternoon.

"So.  How's life?" said Specs.

"Spot's meeting his little IM friend this afternoon," said Adrienne, her head and shoulders lost somewhere in the refrigerator.

"Little IM friend?" Specs repeated, raising an eyebrow at me.

Adrienne finally emerged holding more stuff and I can count.  "Oh---he hasn't told you?" she said, surprised, kicking the refrigerator door shut.  "He's been talking to this guy on IM for like two months and they're FINALLY meeting."

"THIS GUY COULD BE A RAPIST!" Dutchy yelled.

"_I _was the one who suggested meeting," I pointed out.

"Weren't you the one who was against giving out any personal information whatsoever?" said Adrienne slowly as she tried to carefully dump all of the food onto the kitchen counter.

I contented myself with pulling out two pieces of bread and covering them with mayonnaise instead of answering that question.  The truth was, I really did want to meet Racetrack and the only reason I hadn't told him anything about me was that my mother has really started to get to me.  She's so paranoid and overprotective.  Man.  It's messing with my mind.

"Hudson gave Adrienne and me detention again today," said Dutchy, grinning.

"Again??" I repeated. "I don't believe this..."

"Oh you weren't in the class," Specs told me.  "If you had been there, you would have believed it."

"I think he was in a bad mood or something," said Adrienne.  

"Yeah," Dutchy agreed.  "He usually has to put up with so much more."

I laughed and started to put roast beef on one of my two mayonnaise coated pieces of bread.  Yep, I'm a mayonnaise person.  Gross, ain't it?

"Our little Specsie didn't get detention though," said Adrienne, messing with his hair (and getting some mayonnaise in it, too).  "He was sitting all quiet---"

"Like a fish," Dutchy added.

"---yeah, like a fish, and---"

"I was NOT sitting 'quiet like a fish'!" said Specs.

"Pass the cheese," I requested.

"You were TOO sitting all quiet like a fish!" Adrienne told him, passing me the lettuce.  "And Hudson gave you that extra credit on your test because he likes you best."

"That is not WHY he gave me the extra credit!" said Specs.

"Is TOO!" Adrienne stuck out her tongue at him.

"Children, stop your bickering!" said Dutchy in a falsetto voice.

"Said the guy who first described the way I sat as 'like a fish'," Specs mumbled.

"Pass the tomatoes," I requested.

"You know what?" said Dutchy.  "I saw this movie the other day and the guy's ear got cut off and then it crawled into the closet and when the guy's girlfriend finally opened the closet a few days later, little ears came crawling out all over the place!!!"

"So what _is_ your average in Social Studies, then?" Adrienne demanded of Specs.

Specs turned rather pink and mumbled something.

"SPEAK UP, SON, LET THE LORD HEAR YOUR VOICE!" Adrienne yelled.

"'Footloose' freak," I mumbled as I organized the tomatoes in my sandwich in a little pattern.

"I have a 98, alright?" said Specs finally.

Adrienne put a hand over her stomach and collapsed on the floor.  "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO ADRY!!" Dutchy yelled dramatically, kneeling beside her and pretending to sob hysterically.  "She was SO YOUNG, _SO YOUNG_!"

"Hey, what's _your_ average, Dutchy?" said Adrienne suddenly.

"Do you honestly think I'm going to say this in Specs' presence?"

"Hey!"  Specs pouted.  "You guys always treat me like I'm from another planet just because I get better grades than you."

"Your point being?" said Dutchy seriously.

"AAAH!  WHAT TIME IS IT?" I said suddenly.

"Three."

"SHIT!  I'm s'posed to be at Tibby's now!"  I put my sandwich back down on the counter and hurried into the hall to get my sweatshirt.

"Hey dude, you're not just LEAVING, are you?" said Dutchy, surprised.

"I really gotta go, he's probably there waiting already," I said anxiously.  "Thanks for inviting me, Adrienne.  I'm leaving, Mrs. James, thanks for having me over!" I called into the living room.

"No problem, Gabriel, come back soon!" she called back.

"See you guys later."  I hurried out of the apartment and shut the door behind me, running out onto the sidewalk as I pulled my sweatshirt on over my head.

And guess what?

You're not stupid.  I _wonder_ what happened...

Of course, I walked smack-dab into somebody before I had gotten five feet away from the building.  "Oh god, I'm sorry," I said quickly, pulling my sweatshirt over so I could see.  I blinked.

"Gabe, I'm sorry to tell you this but you're an idiot," said Anthony, grinning at me.  "Walking out of a house in New York City with a sweatshirt on over your head and expecting not to get hit by somebody."

I smiled.  "We all have our moments and I'm in a bit of a hurry." 

"Same here.  Walk with me?"

"Sure---ahhh, just kidding, I can't---dammit!"  I looked around vainly for a second and then started up the steps to Adrienne's house again.  "I forgot something---you go ahead, I'll see you around."

Call it fate, but just then the door opened and Adrienne stepped out yelling, "GABRIEL CONLON, YOU IDIOT, YOU FORGOT YOUR---oh, you're still here!  Good!  Oh hey Tony, how's it rollin'?"

"Not bad---I'm sorry but I _really_ have to get going," he said apologetically.  "See you later, Gabe."  He pulled something brown out of his pocket and put it on his head.

Oh god.

Dude.

It was a light brown fedora, the kind that Indy wears.  Tony smiled sheepishly.  "Indy fan," he said by means of explanation, winked from under the brim of his hat, and walked off down the sidewalk in the direction of Tibby's.

Whoa.

Hold on---_major_ light bulb clickage going on in my head right now.

I turned to Adrienne, mouthing wordlessly.  In a total state of shock.

Adrienne smiled at me.  "Gabriel 'Spot' William Conlon---" ah, full name "---if you don't go out there after him, I am personally going to cut you into a thousand little pieces and feed them to Specs and Dutchy for lunch," she said.

"Way to be graphic..."  I finally found words.

"GO!"  And with that she put my fedora on my head, turned me around, and pushed me down the steps and out onto the sidewalk.

Sometimes Adrienne scares the shit outta me.  Other times, I wonder what on earth I would do without her.

*****

**Shoutouts!!**

**Rumor: **Yeah, I have this movie-quoting thing too.  In this chapter alone, I must have mentioned at least five movies ... I guess that's when you know it's become an unhealthy obsession, lol.  Thank you so much for the review, I'm glad you like it!  (The story, I mean, not the review ... nevermind.)

**hippie-girl13492:** You said "where's the rest of the chappie?"  Did the last chapter not show up completely?  If that's true, I am very very sorry, my computer hates my guts.  (I swear on the holy Newsies DVD that it's plotting against me when my back is turned ... *shudder*)  Anyway, thanks for the review! :D

**nani:** Yeah, my friends and me always find something interesting to do at lunch.  Our current obsession is making sculptures with the leftover food ... we get a lot of funny looks. ;-)  We don't generally sing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, though; more Disney songs.  lol.  Thank you so much for the review, hug for you!!

**GLimmer Conlon O'Leary:** FINE!  BE THAT WAY!  lol---anyway, thank you SO MUCH for the review, I am still grinning like an idiot. :D See?  Yeah, I'm just rambling ... I love you too!  Let's go and have milk and cookies!! ;-)

**kattabean: **YOU DON'T LIKE THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS???  THEY ARE MY LIFE!  Actually, I have several lives.  U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Travis, Fountains of Wayne, Nirvana, the Foo Fighters, the Ramones, and Led Zeppelin ... Hey, wait a minute!  *counts on fingers*  That's eight!  I think... Yeah, eight!  I HAVE EIGHT LIVES, BABY, BOW AND FEAR ME!  MWAHAHAHAHA!!!  Ahem.  Thank you so much for the review, I love you!! :D

**Repeat:** Has Scout showed you her "Circle of Life" parody?  It's awesome, I think it will amuse you greatly.  Aaaanyways.  Oh yeah, baby, Race is most DEFINITLY tall dark and handsome.  HE SHALL NOT BACK OUT!!  lol---you broke your Bambi punching bag???  Ah well, here's another one because I love you.  Thanks so much for reviewing, hugs for you!!!

**studentnumber24601:** Ah, I didn't even notice that I was having Race narrate in netspeak ... Thank you for pointing it out to me!  I hope I didn't accidentally have Spot do it this time.  Anyways, thank you so much for reviewing (and I am very glad this story made you squeal, lol)!  :D

**KyrielF:** This probably sounds totally random, but have you read "Sabriel" by Garth Nix?  Just 'cause your name reminded me of some of the names in there and I was wondering if you did that on purpose ... nevermind.  Thank you for the review and the mookies!!!  (Ahh, that made me _laugh_!)  This was not a sukky review!  I shall now give you a hug. Lol

**Pantalaimon: **MAN your name is reminding me of something ... *sits and thinks for about ten minutes* Ah well.  Thank you for reviewing, and I completely agree, abandoned stories stink very much. ;-)

**SpotLover421:** I LOVE 42ND STREET!  IT IS MY LIFE!  Well not really but *voice takes on an emotional tone* it has certainly affected my life in a way I had never imagined ... *emotional tone vanishes* In a way I'm kind of glad that the only teacher of the male gender that I have is about forty years old and has the strangest voice I have ever heard.  I think it would be really weird to have a hot teacher, lol.  Anyways, thank you SO MUCH for reviewing, I love you!! :D

**Sapphy: ***starts laughing for no apparent reason* I dunno, your review made me giggle.  It wasn't anything in particular; the whole thing was just funny.  I agree, hot teachers are creepy and should be banned from all schools until they reach the age of thirty-seven.  And I also agree that I have created some pretty obnoxious teenage girls in this story ... and Adrienne sort of seems more like a teenage GUY in a way.  She's very special. Aaaaanyways, thank you so much for your review!!!

*****

**Author's Note:** No Sean Connery accent this time, I'm sorry ... *Everyone cheers* THANKS TO ALL REVIEWERS and I'm sorry this chapter was kind of long and kind of pointless except for the end.  And I think I kind of destroyed Spot and Adrienne's "special relationship" by adding Specs and Duchy, but I LOVE them!  Yesh ... I mean yes.  Well.  Please review, I'll give you a cookie! ;-)

-Saturday


	6. Chapter Five: Racetrack

**Author's Note: **Writer's block is sneaking up on me.  I can almost feel it breathing down my neck, if you're a tactile learner.  Man, I hope I don't end up deserting this story ... In any case, here is chapter five!  FINALLY, I know, but I've been thinking about this for about a week and I'm still not sure what's going to happen.  Should be interesting, eh?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but Adrienne, Spot's family, Race's family, Bambi, and anybody you don't recognize.  Oh WOE IS ME!!  (Haha, my grammar check tried to change it to "Oh WOE IS I!" Is that the greatest thing ever or what?)

**Dedication:** TO SCOUT BECAUSE I FORGOT HER SHOUTOUT LAST CHAPTER!!  (All the daughters from Pirates of Penzance: _NO SHOUTOUT!  HORRORS!_)  Yeah, it's been three weeks since the school play ended and I am still desperately quoting that blessed musical.

-----

**Chapter Five – First Impressions**

-----

Dear God.  I was about to meet Spot.  _I was about to meet Spot._

I was hyperventilating.

To an extreme degree.

I didn't think this was going to be so scary, but for some reason I was scared outta my pants!  

I glanced at my watch.  Three fifteen.  Shit.  I was gonna be fifteen minutes late and Spot was going to be waiting there all alone at Tibby's and then he'd think that I was standing him up and that I had never really meant to meet him and then he'd block me on IM and we'd never speak again and I'd be completely miserable for the rest of my life because I had missed such an opportunity to meet this guy and I'd fail at everything because I'd be so distracted and then Itey would tell me to---

"HEY TONY, WAIT UP!" someone yelled behind me.  I turned --- and my jaw dropped.

Gabe was sprinting towards me, holding a light brown Indy fedora to his head and grinning.  He stopped just short of me, completely out of breath.  I stood nonplussed, staring at his hat.  Whoa.  Déjà vu.

When his breathing finally returned to an almost normal pace, he held out his hand to me, a smile tugging up the corner of his mouth.  "Well I've been waiting my whole life to meet a guy who has yet to blow up a cookie in the microwave," he said.  "It's a pleasure, Racetrack, a real pleasure."

Racetrack.

What?

_Racetrack??_

How did he know?  Why was he wearing a fedora?  Why had he brought up blowing up a cookie?  It sounded like something Spot would say, come to think of it...

Oh.  _Ohhhhhhhhhhh._

I looked him over again.  Wow.  Spot.  Gabe.  Wow.  He was nothing like the way I had imagined him, yet at the same time exactly how I had anticipated him to be.  He was confident and smiling, his hands in his pockets, his head tilted to the side as he looked me over.  Definitely not bad-looking, something I had never really noticed before; light brown hair, clear blue eyes, a rather cocky half-smile, and if you looked close he had a really nice ass---

Heh heh ... Not that I was looking at his ass, or anything.

He smiled and, with one simple gesture, put a finger under my chin and closed my open mouth.  That was when I started to laugh.  Classic.  "God, I can't believe ... Well the pleasure's all mine, _Spot Conlon_."

His smile broadened and he held out his arm.  "Well if I heard you right, you have a date that was supposedly happening fifteen minutes ago.  Mind if I accompany you?"

"Oh not at all," I said and the pair of us walked down the crowded sidewalk together, still amazed at what had just happened.

*

"ANTHONY!  ANTHONY HIGGINS!"

I swear my stomach dropped to my knees and my face turned the color of Spot's light gray sweatshirt.  No.  She couldn't --- they couldn't ---

"ANTHONY!"

I rested my elbows against the table and carefully stared at my Coke.  Spot was smiling, looking at someone across my shoulder.  He looked like he was trying not to laugh.  "Ya gonna answer her, _Anthony_?" he said softly.

"I don't think I really have a choice," I muttered, and gathered up all my courage and turned around.

Mama was standing across the restaurant in her bright red flowered dress, holding Angelo's hand and waving frantically.  Her black hair was thick, wavy, and out-of-control, and her smile was wide --- as per usual.  Gino and Lia were looking around the café with interest, obviously just coming back from Gino's basketball practice.  I groaned inwardly and slumped down even further over the table.

"Anthony, dere you are!" Mama cried through her clear Italian accent, coming up to me and planting a kiss on each cheek.  "I was a-worried sick 'bout you when Angelo told me you was a-going meet someone you met off de interneter.  It's dangerous, Tony, you tell Mama when you go places!"

"So you're the famous Spot Conlon, eh?" said Gino.  He smiled broadly and held out a hand to Spot.  "I'm Gino and this is Lia, it's nice to meet you."

Spot shook their hands, and I was pleased to see that his eyes didn't linger on Lia like most of the other guys' did.  Honestly, every guy who has ever met her has fallen head over heels at first sight.  I have to admit that she _is_ pretty (she has long, glossy black hair and a figure I guess you could label as "willowy") but she's my SISTER!  That's just gross, man, older sisters are off-limits.

"So dis is your friend, here?" said Mama, smiling at Spot.

"Uh yeah, Gabriel Conlon," said Spot.

"Ah, I haf a-heard lot 'bout you, Gabriel!" she said, nodding knowingly.  The way she said his name made it sound like "Gabrielle" or something.  I slouched so low in my seat that only my hair was showing.  "You play guitar, no?"

"Well ... sort of.  I mean, I don't take lessons or anything---"

"But my Anthony tells me you is very good," she continued.  "My hussband Este used to a-play when we lived in Italy.  We a-used to sing de Italian opera all de time.  You 'member, Gino?"

"What, like that Andrea Bochelli guy, ma?" said Gino.

"Ah, dat is his name."  She smiled and grabbed my shoulders, swaying me back and fourth as she sang.  "CON TE PARTRI"!  PAESI CHE NON HO MAI ... VEDUTO E VISSUTO CON TE, ADESSO SÌ LI VIVR"!"

"Mama!" I groaned.  "Not now!  Why did you guys have to come?"

Spot wasn't listening.  "Hey, my mom listens to that guy sometimes.  She has this thing for opera..."

"Does she?" Mama said happily.  "I like dis boy," she said to me.  "He is very good, very good face."

Spot absentmindedly touched his face, trying not to smile.  Just then the door opened and three people bounced in --- I recognized the girl: Adrienne, Spot's friend.  The other two boys were unfamiliar to me.

"Dear Lord," Spot moaned.  "Hide me!"

Unfortunately, his attempts at hiding behind Lia were unsuccessful (which was not particularly surprising considering Spot is not exactly willowy) and the three located his table and headed over to us.

"Anthony Higgins, I had no _idea_ it was you!" Adrienne gasped, grabbing my hand in a handshake.  "Spot's been talking about you for ages and ages, it's not even funny---"

"I wanna meet Spot's idol!" the blonde boy cried, pushing her out of the way.  "I'm Dutchy Dudynsky, nice to meet you.  And this is Specs David.  He likes to sit quiet like a fish."

"Shut up, Dutchy!" Specs yelled, elbowing him.

Spot was banging his head repeatedly against the table.

"You three is de friends of Spot, no?" said Mama.  "It is very good to a-meet you, I is Anthony's mother."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Higgins," said Specs politely, shaking her hand.

"Mama, who are all these people?" Angelo yelled from his three-foot viewpoint.

"And you is Spot's ... how you say ... girlfriend?" said Mama to Adrienne.

Adrienne stared to laugh, as though the idea were absolutely hysterical.  "Oh _god_ no, we're just friends."

"I see.  Dat is very nice --- you are all very nice, I like you much," said Mama.

"Mama, who are all these people?" Angelo demanded again.

"Hey Spot, guess what?" said Dutchy excitedly.  "We wrote a song about you guys!  Ya wanna hear?"

"No," said Spot, his voice rather muffled because his head was hidden in the tablecloth.

"RACE!" someone yelled.

"WHAT?" I yelled back without moving.  I decided the safest thing to do was stay with my hands over my eyes so that whoever it was couldn't see me.  Hey, it worked in preschool!

"Ah hello dere, you is Barbie, no?" said Mama.

"Bambi, actually," said a voice behind me.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  I looked between my fingers at Spot, who was staring over my shoulder with a mixture of horror and amusement on his face.  He looked really funny, to tell you the truth.  Man, I love that kid.

Slowly, carefully, I turned and looked up at Bambi.  She was smiling happily at me.  "Who's your friend, Race?" she asked, looking at Spot --- or rather, Spot's amazing body.

Spot's face changed from a mixture of horror and amusement to an expression of plain horror.  I could just see what he was thinking.  _Oh my god, why is she looking at my ass like that?  NO!  STOP!  That's MY ass, don't look at it!  AAAH!_

"Race?" she said, not taking her eyes of Spot.

"Hmm?"

"His name?"

"Oh --- Gabriel," I answered quickly.  He smiled thankfully at me.  I don't think he wanted her to get hold of his nickname just yet.

"Gabriel," she repeated.

"He's a very nice boy," said Mama proudly.  "He and Anthony is talking on de interneter wid each other and dey is good friends, no?"

"Actually, they just met today," said Gino.

"But Spot's been talking about it all day," said Dutchy.

"So has Race," said Lia.

"But they've been communicating by Internet for over two months now," said Specs.

"Oh how _sweet_!" Bambi giggled.  "Why didn't you tell me, Racey-baby!"

"For good reasons," I muttered.

"Racey-baby?" Gino repeated, nudging Lia in the ribs and grinning. 

"Well I haf to meet your mother sometime, Gabriel," said Mama.

"Oh you don't want to, believe me," said Spot.

"But of course I do!" she insisted.

"MAMA!" Angelo yelled.  "WHAT'S GOING ON, MAMA??"

By now I'm sure you can guess that most of Tibby's was quite alarmed by what was going on around our table.  So was I, to tell you the truth.  I was still stunned that my mother had shown up to my meeting with Spot to check on me!  And she brought my sweaty older brother directly from basketball practice, my supposedly gorgeous older sister, and my sleepy six-year-old brother ... Sometimes I worry about her sanity.

After a few more minutes of this insanity, Spot looked at me from under the brim of his fedora.  "Ya wanna get outta here?" he mouthed.

"Definitely," I mouthed back.  "I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" I yelled over the noise, and slipped between Gino and Adrienne, who were deep in discussion about hockey.  Spot followed me and soon the pair of us were out of the café and onto the sidewalk.

"Whew," said Spot.

"Yeah."

"Talk about first impressions."

"Yeah."  

Honestly, I don't think I have ever experienced a bigger first impression in my life.

-----

_October 14, 2004_

_Well I met RedSuspendahs99.  Spot.  Gabriel.  Whatever the hell I'm supposed to call him._

_Once Mama showed up and started commenting on Spot's "good face", I frankly thought it couldn't get much worse.  Then Angelo started burping the national anthem, Adrienne and Dutchy joined him, they made up a little interpretative dance routine to go with it, and one of the waiters dropped a tray of dishes because he was staring so much.  That was when Spot and I decided to leave the restaurant.  Best decision I have ever made in my life, if you ask me._

_He's different in real life than he is on IM.  More polite, more cautious.  I don't know why._

_Believe it or not, he asked me if I wanted to come with him to Times Square subway station.  Laughed and said it was the setting for his favorite book._

_The Cricket in Times Square.  I've never read it.  He said he'd lend it to me sometime._

_You'd think it would be awkward, meeting him in real life for the first time but not for the first time.  It wasn't though, that's the weird part.  We were perfectly comfortable with each other from the start._

_And I promise you, there is nothing more entertaining than taking random subways all over New York City on a Saturday afternoon.  We ended up getting lost in Chinatown for a couple of hours.  It was rather scary, but I learned how to say "Happy Birthday" in Chinese!  Now all I have to do is wait for Skittery's birthday ... October 27th.  It's coming, baby, oh it's coming..._

_Six o'clock and Spot said he had to go.  "Don't want my mom to worry," he said._

_"Your mom would get worried if you stayed out after six?" I asked, incredulous._

_He smiled dimly.  "Yeah.  I guess you could call her paranoid..."_

_Unwritten law of the universe: never agree with someone when they are dissing their mom.  "Oh no!" I said automatically.  "We're talkin' NYC, here, it's completely dangerous!"_

_His smile broadened and he patted me on the back.  "It was nice meeting you, Racey-baby," he joked.  "See you 'round?"_

_"Yeah, see ya."_

_And as he walked off, I couldn't help but watch that great ass.  MAN!_

_-Racetrack_

-----

**Shoutouts!!!**

**Ashley: **Aaah, thank you so much!!!  It's reviewers like you that I love the most, honestly.  I'm really glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**PsYcHoJo:** Whoa.  I converted somebody to slash.  _I converted somebody to slash???_   SHWEET!  Oh yeah, man, rock so hard!  I'm glad you've come to your senses and realized that slash is fun! (lol jk) Welcome to the jungle, baby!  Thanks for reviewing, I love ya!

**Shadowlands:** HAHAHA!  Ok no joke, you get the prize for most amusing reviews.  Who the hell writes part of their review in a robot voice?  Anyway, your name makes me think of that song from the Lion King Broadway show called "Shadowlands" :D and it's Nala and she's leaving to go and find Simba!  DUN DUN DUNNNNN!  It's a great song, so even if you didn't intend your name to be that, feel blessed that you picked such a good song.  Thanks for the review(s)!

**rumor:** Aaah, thank you!  Funny review, funny review ... I agree, Sean and Harrison are extremely sexy but Harry-my-love is rather old and gray now.  (Not to say that Sean isn't ... just that the old and gray look is good for Sean, but it's rather upsetting on Harrison.)  Thanks for the review, I love ya!

**Liams Kittens:** HAHAHA _god_ you're funny!  Personally I have a Specs fetish, so our two fetishes are mutually exclusive and they cancel out and everyone's happy!  And about the "like a fish" line, it's actually from "Chicken Run".  Awesome movie.  Have you seen it?  It's in the part when the two adorable little British rats are describing how they stole something and they're like: "So we crept in there all quiet-like---" "Like a fish" "Yeah, and---like a what?"  It's hysterical.  Aaaaanyway, thank you SO MUCH for the review!!! MWAH!

**GLimmer Conlon O'Leary:** AAAAAH THANK YOU!!!  *is tackled and glomped*  

**kattabean:** You, my dear, are quite scary.  But that's why I love you.  Yesh, the Ramones rock and I LOVE 'EM!  I have just recently discovered Green Day and the Offspring.  Ever listened to either of them?  They're awesome, I haven't listened to anything but the pair of 'em for the past week or two.  And yes, the Yankees suck beyond comprehension.  I don't live in New York so I'm allowed to say that YEE-HAW!  Thanks for the review!

**Splashey:** Haha, I love how you signed it "The Splash".  I swear that once I read that, the little voice inside my mind went "DUN DUN DUNNNNNN!"  JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK INTO THE WATER --- THE SPLASH STRIKES AGAIN! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

          I'm ok.  No really!!!  Anyway thank you SO MUCH for the review, I love ya!  I don't have any hot teachers either, the only male teacher I have is about thirty five and he reminds me of a platypus ... heh heh, I love that guy.  He rocks.  Math teacher all the way, baby. :D

**nani:** Yeah, I pretend I'm all informed on New York but I'm really not.  I live in this teeeeeeny tiiiiiiny town in Massachusetts kinda near Boston, and I am isolated from the world.  Thus I write fanfics and act like I am all worldly and sophisticated.  Anyway don't feel bad, I can't tell time either.  It's pretty pathetic ... Thanks for the review, I love you!!!

**Repeat:** Haha, Bambi came ... and it's all your fault!  :D No problem about the five reviews for Family Ties, I love that story beyond belief!  HOORAY!  God I can't wait to find out what bizarre things you guys will have my character doing ... *thinks for a little while* *shudders* Better not think about that now!  Thanks for the review, I love ya! MWAH!

**studentnumber24601:** Aha, it's my only constructive criticizer!  You know, you're the only reviewer I have ever had who actually points out things I need to FIX.  Everyone else either loves it or hates it.  Thank you!  I shall make you muffins.

          Yeah, I hate the Yankees.  Quite a lot.  :D  And I know exactly what you mean about the Boston baseball fanatics, I happen to live pretty close to Boston and have learned that firsthand. ;-) Anyway, thanks for the review, I love you!

**Sapphy:** YAY!  I'm not sure whether I should make Specs and Dutchy gay in the end ... what do you think?  It's always a cute pairing, but I'm just not sure I made their personalities exactly compatible ... Whatever.  Anyway thank you SO MUCH for the review, I love ya!  MWAH!

**SpotLover421:** Aaah, thank you thank you thank you!!!  You like me, you really like me! (lol)  I'm glad you like Adrienne and Shrek and the Cookie Jar song and the end of the last chapter and 42nd Street (which is my favorite Broadway show EVER)!!  You rock my socks, baby!  (And update Race's Journal sometime, will ya?  I love that story more than you could ever imagine, it's wonderful!!!)  Thanks for the review!!! :D

**KyrielF:** Aaah thank you!!  My friends and I have conversations like the one in the last chapter all the time --- it's like how we communicate.  And yes, Keanu Reeves is god.  *sighs and stares off into the distance as a vacant expression comes over face* Thanks for the review, I love ya!!

**Scout73:** "It's not a threat, it's a promise."  Hmm ... Sounds familiar to me too, but I can't put my finger on it.  It might just be one of those lines that's used over and over and OVER in like a million different movies or something.  Anyway, thank you so much for the review!!!  I'm SORRY I FORGOT YOUR SHOUTOUT AAAH but I dedicated this chapter to you, right?  Hold on, lemme check...

          Yep.  There, my conscience is SLIGHTLY cleared. :D

-----

**Author's Note:** And my parents wanted me to go to bed at 10:30.  HA!  Not my best chapter but still leave a review, I'll love you forever!

-Saturday


	7. Chapter Six: Spot

Author's Note: Hmm...This story is going in an odd direction...

Disclaimer: I don't own Spot, Race, Specs, Dutchy, Snitch, Bumlets, or any song lyrics...Aw man, now I'm all depressed!!  Well I do own Adrienne and Spot's family and Mr. Perron...That should be enough, shouldn't it? :-)

Dedication: To Scout again, 'cause I promised her two chapters. lol. I'm SORRY I FORGOT YA, BABY, I WON'T DO IT AGAIN!!

-----

Chapter Six – Karaoke Night

-----

Our English teacher, Mr. Perron, had told us to make a list of several "intriguing questions" that we would like to discuss in class.  He said that we would later compile them into a poster in which we would relate the questions to the universal message of our free choice books.

He's completely insane, if you ask me.

Adrienne showed me her list of intriguing questions on the way to school while we waited for the rest of the guys to show up.  (The six of us --- Adrienne, Specs, Dutchy, Bumlets, Snitch, and me --- always walk to school together in the morning.)  Indeed, I have never been more amused over an English assignment in my life.

_A List of Questions I Find Quite Intriguing_

_by Adrienne James, 6th Period_

_1. Is it possible for one to get split ends on one's armpit hair?_

_2. Why _did_ Indiana Jones wear those horrible glasses when he taught school?  I personally found it absolutely horrifying that those young girls were attracted to him while he was standing there rambling on about some ridiculous old rocks and wearing those dreadful enormous lenses..._

_3. "They might even make a motion picture about you, Arthur!"  "A motion picture?  What's that?"  "Well ... It's like television ... Except without commercials!"  Tell me, what kind of an ending is that???  I personally feel that The Sword in the Stone should receive the _WORST POSSIBLE ENDING TO A MOVIE_ award!  ACK!_

_4. Why is it that all my friends have _wonderfully _clever names (Snitch, Bumlets, Spot, Specs, Dutchy) and I am left simply ADRIENNE or Adry on a good day ... sometimes James, I suppose ... Like that time when Dutchy came bouncing over to me singing, "AND THEY'LL SAY JAAAAMES JAAAAAMES JAAAAAMES, HOW ARE YOU?  ISN'T IT A LOOOOOVELY DAAAAAAY!" but that was a rare occasion indeed..._

_5. How come some pieces of poop float in the toilet and others sink?  I mean seriously, man, what's up with that?_

_6. Why is abbreviation such a long word?  Is there an abbreviation for it?_

_7. How does all that gum get under school desks and chairs?  I have never, in my whole time at this school, seen someone stick their gum under there, yet there it be!  Hoards and hoards of the sticky substance encrusting the bottoms of desks and chairs...How it gets there in the first place is one of the great mysteries of life._

_8. How on earth am I going to connect this list to my free choice book?  I'm beginning to doubt that _Lord of the Flies _will be an easy book to connect to..._

"Are you seriously going to hand this in?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

Adrienne looked at me from under the brim of her baseball cap, her clear gray eyes sincerely surprised.  "Of course!" she said.  "Why wouldn't I?"

I shook my head and handed it back to her.  "It's wonderful, I love it."

"Thank you!" she answered graciously, grinning and putting it back into her bag.  Just then Snitch came around the corner talking with Bumlets.

"ADRIENNE JAMES!" Snitch yelled.

"DANIEL CASPARY!" Adrienne yelled.

"GABRIEL CONLON!" Snitch yelled.

I looked at him.  "What am I supposed to yell?" I asked seriously.  "In all fairness I really should yell Bumlets' name, shouldn't I?  Because otherwise your name would be yelled twice and his only once."

Snitch thought it over for a minute, stroking his chin pensively.  "I suppose...You could yell Bumlets' name..." he said reluctantly.

"Oh thank you, good sir!" Bumlets cried (rather sarcastically, at that), throwing himself at Snitch's feet.  "Hey, did you get new sneakers?"

"Yeah, got 'em yesterday!"  Snitch swung his leg up onto the steps of Adrienne's house (where we meet in the morning, if you didn't realize) and modeled his insanely white new sneakers.

"Good thing too, your old ones were at the point of falling apart," said Bumlets grimly.

"They were good sneakers, though!" Snitch cried.

"DAN CASPARY!" Specs yelled, coming around the corner.  (We're a rather redundant and predictable bunch, eh?)

"MARK DAVID!" Snitch yelled back, patting him macho-ly on the back.  Whoa --- macho-ly...Macholy?  Macho...ish...ly?  Ah, never mind...It was a macho pat on the back, in any case.

"Where the hell is Dutchy?" Adrienne asked, jumping up and using Specs' shoulders as support in order to see further down the sidewalk.

"He should be coming," said Snitch, glancing at his watch.  "Insane as he is, he's quite a precise person.  Here we go --- four, three, two---"

"Hey guys, what's up?" said Dutchy, coming around the corner.

We all looked at Snitch in surprise.  Bumlets looked at his own watch, obviously very confused.  Specs opened and closed his mouth several times, looking quite like a fish out of water.  HAHA!  He was being quiet like a fish!  I get it now!!

"How---" Bumlets began finally.  He looked back at his watch.  

Dutchy was looking quite confused by now, as I'm sure you can guess.  He therefore decided to deal with his confusion in the usual way: singing his little heart out.  "LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS, TO DEFEAT THE HUNS!" he cried, grabbing Adrienne's shoulders and leaping forward dramatically.

She joined him immediately, of course.  God, that girl couldn't pass up a chance to perform if her life depended on it.  "DID THEY SEND ME DAUGHTERS WHEN I ASKED FOR SONS?" the pair of them sang together, going into a rather disturbing interpretive dance.  "YOU'RE A SPINELESS, PALE, PATHETIC LOT AND YOU HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE!  MISTER I'LL MAKE A MAAAAN OUT OF YOOOOU!"    

"Come on, guys, we gotta get to school," I said, grabbing Dutchy's arm before they could go into the main chorus.  Man, Mulan scares the shit outta me.  A girl cutting off her hair and pretending to be a guy but still singing soprano?  Jesus!

*

"Excuse me, Miss James, but what do you think you are doing?" Mr. Perron demanded, stepping in front of Adrienne and blocking her way over to Dutchy's desk where the rest of us were sitting.  "I have just explained to the class that I would like you all go back to your seats so we can begin the lesson, yet here I find you clearly headed directly for Mr. Dudynsky's desk.  Explain yourself."

Adrienne looked up at him and smiled, every inch of her the charming student she had been brought up to be.  "Oh I'm not visiting Ivan, professor," she said quickly.  "I'm just...making spontaneous U-turns around the classroom."  And with that she made a spontaneous U-turn and headed back to her seat.

Mr. Perron blinked.  He's a funny looking man, vaguely resembling a grasshopper.  Very enthusiastic English teacher, too.

"Miss James," he said after a minute.  "May I please see your list of intriguing questions?"

I bit my lip in order not to smile.  "Of course, professor," said Adrienne seriously.  She took it out and handed it to him with a completely straight face.

Mr. Perron read it, and his big green eyes widened even bigger.  "Miss James," he said again.  "Miss --- Miss James --- could you step outside for a minute?  I want to talk to you..."

*

Dutchy wrapped his arm around Adrienne's neck and leaned forward dramatically as he sang.  "_It's a rumor!  A legend!  A mystery!  It's the Princess Anastasia who will help us fly!  You and I, friend, we'll go down in history!  We'll find a girl to play the part and teach her what to say...dress her up and take her to Paree!  Imagine the reward her dear old grandmama will pay!  Who else could pull it off but you and me?  We'll be rich!"_

_"We'll be rich!" _Adrienne repeated loudly through her uncanny Russian accent.

_"We'll be out!"_

_"We'll be out!"_

The pair of them continued together, _"And St. Petersburg will have some more to taaaaaaaaalk abooooooouuuuut!!!"_

I've never seen an audience at a karaoke bar so incredibly entertained.  They were laughing and clapping to the beat and listened intently as Adrienne and Dutchy leaned closer at the dramatic part.

_"Shh!  Have you heard there's a rumor in St. Petersburg?  Have you heard what they're saying on the streets?  HEY!"_  Then, to my astonishment, they did some sort of traditional Russian dance...whoa, sometimes those two terrify me...

"Hey," said someone behind me.  I turned around to see Racetrack leaning against the wall, smiling at me.  He was looking pretty darn cute in baggy blue jeans and a gray T-shirt with THE BEATLES on the front---

AAAH NOT CUTE I DIDN'T JUST THINK THAT HE LOOKED CUTE all right, this is getting old, he did look cute.

Just a little bit.

A really, really little bit.

I wasn't attracted to him, though.  I'm straight.

"Those're your friends up there, right?" he asked, nodding at Adrienne and Dutchy (who were now doing an unusual rendition of the can-can).

"Um...Yeah."  I grinned at him.

He patted the wall beside him and I came over and leaned against it too.  "So how ya been?" he asked.

"Not bad, you?"

"Pretty good..." He opened his mouth to say something, changed his mind, and crossed his arms over his chest.  We both looked up at the stage in time to see the dramatic ending to the song.

"_The princess Anastasiaaaaaaaaaaaaa!  ALIIIIIVE OR DEAAAAAAAAD---" _Adrienne sang, throwing her arm out.

"_Who knows?"_ Dutchy whispered.

The crowd of people burst into applause, which is unusual at a karaoke bar.  I guess not many people actually do substantial performances, and Adrienne and Dutchy are destined for Broadway.  They really should get married...Except I am somehow under the impression that Dutchy is rather gay...Maybe I'm just losing my mind...

Race nudged me in the ribs.  "Hey," he murmured, "ya wanna sign up for one?"

"_NO!_"

He grinned at the look of horror on my face.  "Aw c'mon, Spottie, you know you love performing---"

"Hey Spot, come and do one!" Dutchy sang, hopping over to us with Adrienne.  "Did we sound alright?"

"Hell yeah!" I answered, slapping him a high five and patting him on the back.  "I was never an Anastasia fan, though; Pocahontas was so much better, y'know?"

"I'm not going to ask..." Racetrack muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Hey Adry, I never got to ask," I said, leaning closer to her and grinning, "how did the whole deal with Mr. Perron go?"

"Aw _man..."_ she groaned.  "I've been grounded.  Apparently he wasn't amused by my question about the poop floating in the potty..."

"If you were grounded why are you here...?" Race asked. 

"Whatever, come and do a song!" Adrienne said to me.

"NOOOO!"

"Why not?" Race demanded.

I hesitated.  Why _was_ I so against singing something?  Half the people here were drunk, it wasn't as if I was going to embarrass myself _that_ much...No more than the rather intoxicated couple up there singing "Build Me Up Buttercup" in incredibly off-key voices, anyway...But somehow I felt like...

Bingo.  I felt like it was something my mother wouldn't want me doing.  Her little boy performing in front of forty to fifty people.  HORRORS!  She wouldn't have it.

I wet my lips.  "I dunno...I just don't feel up to it tonight, all right?  You guys go up, I'll watch."

Racetrack raised an eyebrow at me.  I could see that he was confused, how I loved to play the guitar and always wanted to play in front of an audience, and now I was faking stage fright or whatever I was doing...

I was rather confused myself.

"Ya sure?" Dutchy asked.

"Yeah."

Race shrugged.  "Whatever, man..." He put his arm around Dutchy and Adrienne's shoulder and the three of them headed over to the sign-up table.  "So ya like show tunes?"

"Do I ever..."

I watched them walk away, rubbing my chest and wondering what the hell was wrong with me.

*

"Gabriel?"

I hung up my jacket in the closet and pulled off my sneakers.  "Yeah mom?"

"Could you come in here for a minute?" she asked.

She was in the office.  Surprise surprise.  She was always in the goddamn office...I jammed my hands into my pockets and made my way over there, walking as slowly as possible.

She was sitting at her desk, sorting through hundreds of thousands of papers.  Her light brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun on the back of her neck and I could see the wispy gray hairs at her temples.

I squinted my eyes at her.  "Gabriel, where were you this afternoon?" she asked me.

"Out."

She looked up at me then with those clear blue eyes that matched my own.  She bit her lip.  "Where is out?"

I shrugged.  She stood up and came over to me.  "Gabriel..." She ran a finger over my cheekbone.  "I'm worried about you."

"Why?" I demanded, pulling back.

"You've been going out a lot lately."

"Would you prefer that I didn't?"

"Well yes, to an extent.  I'd like you to at least tell me where you are planning on going."

"Mom..."

"Listen to me!" she snapped, stepping back again.  "As a mother I can't allow you to just wander aimlessly throughout the city, I need to know where you're going in case something were to happen to you!"

"Mom, look at me!"  I was rather ticked off by now and stepped back dramatically so that she could get the full effect of my statement.  "Look --- I am sixteen years old and still alive and well.  I have been living in Brooklyn, New York City for all of my life and I have never been mugged, kidnapped, murdered, or raped.  I have a life and I would like to actually _live it_ to some extent!"

Mom looked at me, the wrinkles on her forehead deepening.  "Gabriel, I would like you to try not to go out anymore for a week or two, for my sake.  I understand your point but---" 

"You're _grounding_ me??" I demanded, throwing my hands in the air.  "Dear god, what more do you want of me, mom!?"

That seemed the perfect time for me to storm out of the room, so I did so and stomped up the stairs into my room, slamming the door behind me.

I grabbed my teddy bear from my bed and held him to my chest, sitting down on the bed.  

"My life sucks," I told the teddy.  "My life sucks and I'm sick of it."

Not that I'm suicidal or anything.

Maybe I should go and IM Race...

*

Shoutouts!!!

rumor: Ah, Harrison Ford...*sighs happily* I love that man.  Let's just leave it at that.  Thank you SO MUCH for the review, it cracked me up!  You're such a nutcase...But just out of curiosity, do you write your reviews _as_ you read the story?  'Cause that was what it sounded like...arg, I think I'm just losing my mind...

Liams Kitten: HAHAHA!  NEWSIES ACTION FIGURES!  I LIKE IT!  *puts arm around your shoulder and stares off into the distance* Y'know, kid, I think ya got a future.  We could go far t'gethah, wid your brains an' me money...

          Ok so I don't have any money.  But I felt like saying something random like that.  Anyway, thank you sooo much for the review, it was hilarious!!

splashey: Ooh you have a loud Italian family?  My family's so boring, we're American through and through with a bit of Irish and English blood.  BLAH!  We're extremely loud, though, so I guess that makes up for our boring labels...Anyway thank you SO MUCH for the review, and of course I forgive you for not reviewing till later!  Sometimes the late ones are the best, y'know?  After the big wave has passed and you're all depressed...and then suddenly out of the blue you get another one!  HOORAY!  *sighs happily* Oooh and thank you for the funky signature!  It made me so happy!!! :D

Shadowlands: HAHAHAHA!  Ok once again you get the funniest review award.  "You picked a day I like."  WOO HOO!  And of course everyone reviews in robot voices!  How could they not?  I was just messin' with your mind, hon. ;-) Thanks for the review, I love ya!

Repeat: YAY!  GOD you're funny...Don't worry about the American Psycho thing, I just hung out in the bathroom for the rest of the day and puked a couple times...lol jk it was kind of funny to think of Christian Bale with extreme mental issues (as long as I didn't picture him doing all that shit to those girls...ahhhh...*shudders and hides under desk*) Anyway thanks for the review!!

Sapphy: Haha, I think I'm gonna end up having the extreeeeme opposites of Specs and Dutchy attract at the end.  The only problem is what will happen to Adrienne!  She'll have no potential boyfriend!!  Ah well, I'll figger it out.  Thanks for reviewing, I love ya!

uninvisible: Aw MAN I love your name...so incredibly perfect. :D And never fear, I will have my revenge on Bambi in the end.  She's too obnoxious to let live.  Thanks for reviewing!

Thistle: YEE-HAW, INDY NIGHT!  My family and I watched "Raiders of the Lost Ark" on Easter...it was kind of fun. ;D And no, I'm sorry to say that Adrienne does not have any romantic feelings for Spot whatsoever.  I just wanted to mess with people's minds a little bit with the whole Gabriel Damon thing, lol.  Anyway thanks so much for the reviews, you reviewed every chapter!!!  I love it when people do that, makes me so incredibly happy. :D

arwenevenstar88: I am SO PROUD!  I can finally write your name correctly without looking it up!  Aw MAN I'm good...Aha, you have discovered my secret motivation!  Every person who reads this story will eventually have incredibly chiseled abs and I will be the happiest person alive!  MWAHAHAHA!  Ok so that's not what I'm trying to do, but I'm glad this makes you laugh!  ("MAKE 'EM LAAAUGH!  MAKE 'EM LAAAUGH!"  Ah, Singin' in the Rain...Great musical.) Anyway thank you so much for the review!  THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS RULE!!

coin: Aww thank you!  And of course Spot has a great ass!! ;-)

nani at 12 o'clock: Drumroll...I love you too!! lol Yes the subway is the best thing ever.  My sister likes the train better...high-maintenance lunatic...I kind of like how grim and graffiti-covered the subway is.  Makes me feel clean, y'know?  And you MUST read the Cricket in Times Square, it is absolutely adorable and a classic.  Oooh look, it won an award!  AAAH IT'S A NEWBERRY HONOR BOOK!  DUDE!  Ok that's pretty darn cool.  Anyway thanks for the review!! :D

SpotLover421: Well I can't really answer to your writer's block thing on the Journal of Racetrack Higgins because you UPDATED AAAH!  I was so happy...Anyway thank you so much for reviewing, I love sprace too!!  (I just figgered out what that was all by myself, I'm so proud!)

kattabean: Aw man I love ya.  I'm a pet?!?  SHWEET!  Can I have a little blue collar?  Ok so maybe I'm getting a little too into that metaphor, lol.  But Green Day and the Offspring are my new best friends, I haven't listened to anything else for the past month (well besides U2 but they are my gods so they don't count).  Thanks for the review!! :D

PsYcHoJo: Of course slash is adorable!!  Ok so some people don't write it adorable, some people write it like realistic relationships, but the slash I like to read is just adorable.  I'm so glad you like it now, welcome to the dark side!! ;-)  Thanks for reviewing!

Scout73: DUDE!  Two "YAY!"s in one review!  I'm getting better all the time, lol.  I hope you're back from Florida because I can't afford to have you pissed at me.  You're just getting over the fact that I forgot your SHOUTOUT time before last!  AAAH!  lol, I could probably keep writing this story forever, it's really fun!  :D But then again, I think I'd lose a reviewer or two after a couple years...Anyway thanks for the review!

KyrielF: Oooh, superb!  Fancy lingo, I like it! lol, I'd die too if my family came to check on me...I can't believe I did that to my darling Racetrack!!  Watch the first Matrix, it's the best!!  Thanks for the review, I love ya!

studentnumber24601: Oh hooray!  I feel extremely loved! lol.  As much as I hate the Yankees, I wish you luck heading into Boston with your hat on...Unless it has already happened, in which case I hope to be reading a review from you soon to make sure you're still here. ;-) Aw man, I'm really glad you liked the accent!  It was kind of random, but I had fun writing it and adding a's to the beginning of verbs. :D Thanks for reviewing, I love ya!

-----

Author's Note: Yeah, so this chapter was as random as it gets...Just working up towards the climax, I suppose.  Please leave a review!! :D

-Saturday


	8. Chapter Seven: Racetrack

**Author's Note: ***does rather disturbing victory dance* I broke a hundred!  I broke a hundred!  WOO HOO!  Oh my, how loved I feel!  Muffins for all reviewers, I have never gotten more than a hundred reviews before in my life!  OH HAPPY DAY!

          Ah yes, and just for the record, I just got my braces on and MAN my jaw hurts like a bitch ... Please have mercy on me if this chapter isn't exactly a work of art. ;-)

**Disclaimer: **I own Race's family, Spot's family, and Adrienne ... basically every female character mentioned, I guess.  Don't own anything else, please don't sue!

-----

Chapter Seven – Midlife Crisis 

-----

_RedSuspendahs99: _Arrrrrrrggggggghhhhhh...

_EmusRockMySocks: _Hello, sunshine.

_RedSuspendahs99: _I'm groooooooouuuuunded...

_EmusRockMySocks: _Are you kidding me?

_RedSuspendahs99: _NO!  Man, I am extremely pissed off.

_EmusRockMySocks: _Whadjya do?

_RedSuspendahs99: _I didn't tell my mom where I was going.

_EmusRockMySocks:_?

_EmusRockMySocks: _Seriously?  That's it?

_RedSuspendahs99: _YES!  And it sucks on crap!

_EmusRockMySocks: _lol

_RedSuspendahs99: _Augh, I gotta go.  See you later.

_EmusRockMySocks: _Bye.

He signed off and I sat there for a minute, staring at the screen and thinking hard.  I needed to talk to someone.  Badly.  Not Mama, she would spill pasta sauce all over me ... Papa didn't seem like a safe bet either ... Angelo was out of the question...

Gino.  Where was Gino?

Dammit, he was at basketball practice.

Aw crap.  Lia was the only person left.  The last person I wanted to talk to, but the only one I _could_ talk to.

Man, I hate life.

"LIA!" I yelled, standing up and heading out of my room.

"WHAT?" she yelled back from her and Gino's room over the noise of her music.  Green Day, I think, but you never can tell...

"CAN I COME IN?" I yelled.

"NO!" she yelled.

"PLEASE?  I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!" I yelled.

There was a moment of silence.  I think she was stunned that I was actually asking to talk to her.  Creepy.  Suddenly, the music went off.  "Yeah, come in," she said.  I opened the door.

She was lying upside-down on her bed with her long black hair hanging over the edge.  She had her sketchbook on her lap and she was drawing Harrison Ford.  Heh heh, I really don't get the credit I deserve.  If it weren't for me, she'd still be drawing Nick Carter.  Horrifying, ain't it?

"Whaddaya want?" she asked fondly as she perfected his oddly crooked smile.  "Little heart-to-heart between siblings, eh, brace-face?"

Now this is when I worry.  I got my braces off over a month ago.

"Um..." I suddenly found myself wondering whether or not I really wanted to talk to her about this.  A rather touchy subject, if you ask me, and certainly not something one would want to talk about with one's older sister.

She tore her large brown eyes away from her picture and fixed them piercingly upon me.  "Spill, man, I don't got all day."

Holy shit, my older sister talks like a guy.

"Well..." I began slowly, sitting down next to her.  "Um ... What would you say if I told you I was ... y'know, gay?"

She looked me over.  "I'd say congratulations, guys are much more fun than girls anyway."

"What?!" I was astonished that she wasn't fazed in the slightest by the idea.  "Wouldn't you be kind of creeped out or something?"

"Nah." She turned back to her picture.  "You know Tom, right?  My friend I had over a couple times, bright blue hair?  He's gay and that doesn't bother me."

"But I'm your _brother_," I insisted.

"How does that make it any different?  This is better, in a way.  Now I won't be all disappointed that we can't go out."

That was an odd thing to say.

I never knew my sister was such an open-minded person.

"What ... do you think Mama's gonna say?" I asked slowly.

Lia looked back up at me, concern in her eyes.  "Y'know, Tony," she said thoughtfully, "I really don't know."

Not exactly the answer I was looking for.  "So I shouldn't tell her?"

"I dunno.  Honestly, I don't think you should tell anybody until you are completely sure that you _are_ gay.  I mean, imagine if you figured out later on that you were just a confused sixteen-year-old with serious issues."  She smiled.  "I read in some book a while back that it's normal for teens to 'experiment' with each other a little.  Hell, even Gino's messed with his friends once or twice."

My jaw dropped.  "Are you friggin' kidding me??"  Gino the babe-magnet making out with guys.  For the life of me I couldn't picture it.

"Aw sure," Lia laughed.  "I walked in on him and his friend Zach shirtless and all over each other one night, then the next thing I knew he was goin' steady with some other girl.  It's just natural, I guess."

My older sister.  The shrink.

"Have you ever ... 'experimented'?" I asked, unsure of whether I wanted to know the answer.

She thought for a minute.  "Actually, I haven't," she said finally.  "Never occurred to me that that was an option.  Doesn't interest me in the slightest, to tell you the truth.  Must be a guy thing."  

"Yeah."  Whoa.  I hadn't talked to my sister like this for a long time.  It was kinda nice and cozy, in a weird way.

"Alright.  Now that you are feeling more in touch with yourself, I am going to finish this picture if it's the last thing I do."  She sat up and turned Green Day back on.  "Please make yourself scarce, Tony dear."

Way to ruin the nice and cozy moment, Lia.  Sheesh.

*

The next day after school I managed to shake Itey and Skittery off and head over to the Public Library.

Hey, shut up!  I had a special errand that I wanted to get done and nothing was standing in my way today.  (Otherwise, believe me, I wouldn't be caught dead in that place.)

"Hi," I said to the young woman at the counter.

She turned in a sort of slow-mo, thick blonde hair swinging gracefully over her shoulder.  "Hey," she said, flashing me a knockout smile.  She winked at me.

I blinked.  "Um..."

Dammit, I needed that little piece of paper ...  I groped in my pockets, finally grabbing hold of it, and trying to decipher my cramped handwriting.  "Could you get me ... _The Cricket in Times Square_ by George Selden?"

"Sure thing, hon," she said, winking again and heading over to her computer.

Aaah.

All right, this girl was seriously freaking me out.  Why was she looking at me like that?  AAAH!  SHE WINKED AT ME AGAIN!  This was very scary, I felt like shrinking into my sweatshirt.

_Ah yes, _the little voice in my mind reminded me, _this is how people who are attracted to each other behave._

"Well then why am I so creeped out?" I asked it.  Several people looked at me oddly, but I ignored them.

_Because you're not attracted back._

"Ah.  I see."

"Here you go," said the girl.  "_The Cricket in Times Square_, by George Selden.  Enjoy!"  She winked yet again.  All right, she MUST have something in her eye...  "It's a classic.  Is this your first time reading it?  I do like a man who's not afraid to show his interests in unusual things."

I raised an eyebrow at her.  "I ... gotta go."

Yeah, she was definitely flirting.

Ew.

I hurried out of the library and sat myself down next to one of those big lion statues.  They're kind of my friends.  I've even named them: the one on the left is Calvin, and the one on the right is Georgia.  Right now I was sitting next to Calvin, but I'd soon move over next to Georgia so that she wouldn't get jealous.

"So maybe I wasn't attracted to that random girl behind the counter, even though she was stunningly gorgeous and extremely flirtatious," I said to him.  "That doesn't mean I'm gay.  Does it?"

Calvin stared stonily back at me.

"Aw thanks for the support," I snapped.  "Y'know, I think I'm gonna go and sit next to Georgia.  She's more sympathetic."

He decided to ignore this comment.  He's very good at that.  I resisted the urge to throw the new book at him and instead stuck out my tongue and walked across the steps over to Georgia.

Needless to say, I was certainly getting quite a few funny looks from other people by now.  I didn't care.  I was going though a midlife crisis at age sixteen. 

I sat down next to Georgia and opened the book.  "_A mouse was looking at Mario,_" I read.  Wow.  What kind of a name is Mario?  Heh, no wonder Spot liked this book.  He's always been a bit deranged.  _"The mouse's name was Tucker, and he was sitting in the opening of an abandoned drain pipe in the subway station at Times Square.  The drain pipe was his home.  Back a few feet into the wall, it opened out into a pocket that Tucker had filled with the bits of paper and shreds of cloth he collected.  And when he wasn't collecting, "scrounging" as he called it, or sleeping, he liked to sit at the opening of the drain pipe and watch the world go by."_

I shut the book and turned to Georgia.  "Spot Conlon is the weirdest person I have ever met," I told her.

"Said the boy talking to a stone statue," said the old homeless man sitting next to me.  "I think you'd better figure out your own life before you go making judgments about other people, son."

Well I'll be.  Why are homeless dudes always so friggin' wise??

I turned to him.  "You know, maybe you're right."

"Of course I am," said the man, smiling.  He was a friendly looking guy, African-American, with a dark brown hat and lots of freckles over his nose and cheekbones.  He had an old battered guitar case at his side and he was clinging to it as though it was the only thing he cared about in the world.

"You ever been in love?" I asked him suddenly.  Don't ask me why; he just seemed like the right person to ask.

"Sure I have," he answered and patted his guitar case.  "This is my baby right here."

I grinned.  "You ever been in love with another person?" I clarified.

"Ain't you a bit young to be in love?" he asked, looking me over.

"Maybe."  I shrugged.  "Is there really an age for love?"

"Aha!" he exclaimed, starting to laugh.  He patted me on the back, shaking his head back and fourth.  "Exactly the answer I was lookin' for, son.  I like you."  He breathed deeply and folded his hands across his stomach.  "Can't say that I've ever really been in love, though.  Heard it's amazing."

"Well it's not," I said.

He raised his eyebrows.

"Whaddaya do..." I ran my fingers across the spine of the book, trying to figure out how to word what I wanted to say.  "What do you do if you love someone but you know they don't love you back?"

The old man's thick eyebrows went up even higher at this.  "Ah..." he said thoughtfully.  "You ask tricky questions, m'boy, real tricky questions."

We sat and watched a pigeon try and poop into a woman's coffee cup.  She would move it every few seconds, and the stupid bird would waddle over to it and try to place it's feathery bottom on it again.  The process continued for almost a minute until the woman finally got up and moved to a different bench.

"Well honestly," the man said slowly, "I think you should tell this person even if you don't think they could ever love you back."

"Wha—"

"'Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.' –David Grayson," he interrupted me.

I looked at the man again.  Whoa.

I smiled.  "Hey, I should get going," I said, standing up and reaching into my pocket.  "Here—" I handed him a ten dollar bill. "—I've got some business to attend to."

"Hey, no problem," he answered, accepting the money graciously.  He grinned at me, and his face wrinkled pleasantly around the edges of his smile and the corners of his eyes.  "Good luck, kid."

I decided not to wave goodbye to Calvin and Georgia (some help THEY had been) and headed down the steps and around the corner.

"Man," I said to myself.  "So far today I've had discussions with my older sister, two stone lions, a homeless black man I have never seen before in my life, and the little voice inside my head."

Dude.  When they said love messes with your mind, I never realized exactly how serious they were...

-----

**_Shoutouts!!_**

****

**_PsYcHoJo: _**lol!!  I love it when people sing along with my stories, it makes me so proud!  My mom would never ground me, either; I actually break into song quite as frequently as my characters do, and it drives my family out of my mind.  Thanks for the review, lol!

**_Repeats:_** Yeah, Scout told me about your Perronne friend ... There's this really hot kid in our school with the last name Perron, though, so I was trying to think of a last name and that one came to mind.  He doesn't look like a grasshopper though, and I think that's how I described the teacher ... Nevermind.  Anyway, you are an Anastasia FANATIC!  Ahh you had a hysterical review, THANK YOU!  Lova ya! ;-)

**_Scout73: _**Aw I'm too lazy to explain the whole Perron thing.  Read Reps' shoutout, it's the one before yours. ;-) AHAA!  RACEY-POO!  MAN I seriously cracked up when I read that, absolutely hysterical!  My lovey dovey Racey-pooooooo!  I'm boo hoo hoo for yoooooooou!  You rock, Scout, thanks for the review!

**_Alexandra Paige: _**Aw thanks!! :D :D By the way, what exactly do you mean by "this section of FFN"?  Just wondering.  Anyway, thank you SO MUCH for the review!

**_Coin: _**AHA!  The fist person to actually ANSWER one of Adrienne's questions!  You get a cookie for that, tres bien!  Thanks so much for the review, I love ya!

**_Deanie: _**Aww thanks!  I actually break into song just like my characters, so don't feel alone (lol).  And never fear, Jacky-boy will have a part in this fic, albeit a rather small one.  Well I mean it'll be a crucial role but he won't actually BE IN THE FIC that much.  Ya get what I'm saying?  Nevermind, I have a tendency to mess with people's minds and it upsets them.  Thanks for the review, I love Mulan too!!

**_Shadowlands: _**Aww I'm sorry!  Well you can get as many awards from me as you want, I'd be happy to give them to you.  I find Dutchy oddly sexy too, in a very dorky kind of way.  I like his glasses and his geeky smile.  Thank you so much for the review, I love ya!!

**_arwenewstar88: _**Never fear, there's gonna be some good kissing at the end but I'm not so sure about the sex thing.  Not that I don't absolutely ADORE the idea of Race and Spot in bed together ... it's just that I've never written a story including sex.  Ever.  In my life.  I'm not a particularly confident person so I probably won't go there, but you never know ... Anyway thanks so much for the review!  (And update your new story for Christ's sake, man, I like it!)

**_rumor: _**Ah, clever strategy, if you ask me.  Your reviews are always real interesting because you react to EVERYTHING just as it happens.  AAH!  What have you heard about Harry dearest?  (Ok so I'm not THAT big of a fan but I am uninformed and curious.)  Thanks for the review, I love ya!

**_Studentnumber24601:  _**Yeah, I'm sorry the last chapter wasn't exactly "up to stellar", if you will.  (Dear god, I'm staring to sound like my French teacher...)  Ya gotta take into account that I _am _just thirteen years old and I think that kind of shows in my writing style.  Anyway, I am very glad that you managed to survive Boston with your Yankees hat on. ;-)  I was in New York for a couple days this week and I can't even begin to tell you how many times I was tempted to start yelling about how much the Yankees suck ... My dad and I actually ended up in an elevator, bashing the Yankees with some guy from Chicago.  Very fun.  Anyway thanks for the review, I love ya!

**_uninvisible: _**Dude, I'm special!  WOO HOO!  You have no idea how many people tell me that every day, it's insane.  I live on Indy and Disney musicals too, and I think it's messed with my brain a little bit ... *smiles vacantly for a second* Anyway, thanks so much for the review!

**_Splashey: _**I would assume that Spot hasn't told his friends about his teddy bear.  I think Adrienne would wet herself from laughing so hard, personally ... WOO HOO MULAN!  Yeah, Shan Yu is awesome.  LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS TO DEFEAT THE HUNS!  Mushu's the best, though, ya gotta admit ... I must admit, by the way, that I have actually asked myself many of Adrienne's questions seriously.  I'm such a nutcase, it's not even funny.  Thanks for the review!!

**_SpotLover421: _**Yeah, I have a tendency to get songs stuck in people's heads ... lol, I'm sorry your mom was giving you funny looks.  I cracked up when I read that you were seriously singing along, it sounds like something I would have done.  Sorry about the lack of song lyrics in this chapter, I kinda got off-track, I guess.  Oh and by the way, when I was typing the conversation between Spot and Race at the beginning I almost wrote Spot's screenname as "SpotLover421" instead of "RedSuspendahs99".  I think I'm losing my mind, lol.  Thanks for the review, I love ya!

**_kattabean: _**WOO HOO, I'M A FISH!  *does happy dance* YAY!  Thanks for the review, I love ya!

**_nani at 12 o'clock: _**Yeah I actually haven't seen Mulan in a while either, but I listen to the soundtrack constantly.  I'm such a loser ... I don't like white sneakers, they scare me.  I like mine to be all worn out and broken in, but that's just me.  Anyway thanks for the review!

**_Sapphy: _***gasps melodramatically* YES!  YES!  OUR ANSWER IS YES!  *grabs Dutchy around the waist and bounces away singing* lol, thanks for reviewing, I love ya!

-----

**_Author's Note: _**Wow, this chapter was different from the other ones.  A real lack of song lyrics, I noticed.  The only mention of music was when Lia was listening to Green Day!  AAH!  IT'S AGAINST MY MORAL ETHICS!  MUST— NOT— PUBLISH— Aw hell, I published it.  Leave a review!

-Saturday


	9. Chapter Eight: Spot

**Author's Note: **WOO HOO I'M FINALLY UPDATING!  I AM ALIVE!!

**Disclaimer: **You know the drill; I don't own any of the newsies or any of the song lyrics (and I promise you there will be some in this chapter) but I do own Spot's family, Adrienne, and Louie.

-----

Chapter Eight – Grounded 

**-----**

_"NOOOOBODY KNOOOOWS THE TROOOOUBLES I'VE SEEEEN!"_ I sang sadly, strumming my guitar.  _"NOOOOBODY KNOOOOOWS MY SORROWWWWW!"_

"For goodness sake, Gabriel, stop that horrible moaning!" my mother yelled from downstairs.

I pretended not to hear her.  _"NOOOOOBODY KNOOOOOWS THE TROOOOOOUBLES I'VE SEEEEEEN!"_

I heard her footsteps coming up the stairs and quickly took off my earphones and shoved the guitar under my bed.  That's the beauty of this guitar; I could plug in the headphones and only I could really hear the sound it made.  That way I could practice all I wanted and mom would never know.

Ohh I'm so clever.  Mwahahahaha.

The doorknob rattled.  "Gabriel!" my mom called from outside the door.  "Do you mind unlocking your door?  I'd like to come in for a minute."

_Of course I mind, woman!_

"Sure, hold on."  I swung myself off of my bed and opened the door, smiling grimly at her.  "Yes, mommy dearest?"

She rolled her eyes at me.  "I'd greatly appreciate it if you came down and had breakfast with me."

"I'm not hungry."

"Well at least come down and keep me company."

"I'm busy."

She looked at me, standing there in my pajamas with absolutely nothing to do.  _You're busy?  Yeah, and later on monkeys might fly out of my butt..._ [1] She didn't say that, of course.  That is not an Eliza Conlon thing to say.

"Well I am going downstairs," she said, trying to smooth down my messy hair.  "Please try to make yourself useful or else go back to bed."

_THAT_ is an Eliza Conlon thing to say.

I scowled at her and closed the door, sitting back down on my bed and taking my guitar out again.  "_Yes I'm grounded, got my wings clipped; I'm surrounded by all this pavement ... Guess I'll circle while I'm waiting for my fuse to dryyyyy!" _I continued loudly.  _"SOMEDAY I'LL FLYYY!  SOMEDAY I'LL SOOOOAAAAR!  SOMEDAY I'LL BEEEE SO DAMN MUCH MOOOOORE!  'CAUSE I'M BIGGER THAN MY BODY GIVES ME CREDIT FOR!"_

Ack, John Mayer.  You know you're officially off your rocker when you start singing his songs at ten in the morning.

I had, however, been locked in this house for two whole days and I was getting quite sick of it.  I think I had good reason to be off my rocker, don't you?

"GABRIEL!" mom called from downstairs.

"YEAH?" I yelled back.

"GET DRESSED AND GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!" she yelled dejectedly.  "I'M SICK OF YOU!  GO AND ANNOY SOME OTHER UNFORTUNATE MOTHER FOR A COUPLE HOURS!"

HA!  _Grounded?_  Noooooo... They said it couldn't be done!  They said that it was not humanly possible to annoy your parents into un-grounding you!  But YES!  YES YES YES!  I am a geeeeeenius, I tell you, a geeeeeenius!  Oh yes, all humanity shall bow down to me!  I SHALL BLESS THEM WITH MY CRUELTY!

I whipped off my shirt, tied it around my head, and went into a somewhat disturbing victory dance chanting, "FREE!  FREE!  I AM FREE AT LAST!"

Unfortunately, that was about when my mother came into the room.  "Gabriel?" she said quietly, rather shocked.

I stopped in mid-hop and slowly pulled my t-shirt off my head.  "...Hey mom," I said.  "Sorry 'bout that, I'll be out of the house before you can say 'pistachio ice cream'."

She looked at me oddly.  I honestly don't blame her.  Freedom can do funny things to the head, if you ask me.  "Where exactly do you plan on going?" she asked finally.

_Nooooooooooooo _... Just when I think I'm out of her clutches, she _PULLS ME BACK IN _... Oh the PAIN!

"I dunno..." I said, shrugging.  "Just go for a walk around the neighborhood, probably, maybe meet up with Specs and Dutchy."

She kind of cringed.  "Oh do you have to go with them?" she asked reluctantly.  "I'm worried they're a bad influence on you..."

"Yeah, and so is Adrienne, right?" I snapped as I took off my pajama pants and dumped them on the bed.  "And Snitch and Bumlets, they're all bad influences?  I don't have many friends, mom, and you've somehow managed to find faults in all of them."

For the life of me I can't imagine why Snitch calls me a drama queen...

Mom took my pants from my bed and automatically folded them.  I rolled my eyes, pulled on my blue jeans and a t-shirt, and grabbed my duct tape wallet from my dresser.  (Yeah, I made a wallet out of duct tape.  Hey, I was bored when I made it, all right?)  "I'm off!" I said dramatically.

"Wear a sweatshirt, it's cold."

I glowered at her and grabbed a sweatshirt.  "Now I'm off!" I said dramatically, and headed out of my room.

"Bring Krypto with you, he's been whining all morning!" mom called after me.

I stopped and glared at the door.  Krypto bounced over to me, slobbering over my leg.  I clipped his leash onto his collar, patted his head, and made my way to the front door.  "NOW— I'M— OFF!" I yelled dramatically and left, slamming the door behind me.

Dysfunctional?  _Nooo_, not our family.  Just a little eccentric.

-----

I was going to visit my baby.  I hadn't been to _Zach's Musical Shop_ since Race and I actually met, and I was going into beautiful-musical-instrument-withdrawl.  Who knows, maybe this time I'd actually BUY the thing.

About halfway there, I bumped into Adrienne.  She was walking Louie and sporting a bruise the size of New York City that had somehow blossomed over her left eye and cheekbone.  "Teddy," she said before I could say anything.  "He decided last night that I wasn't really his big sister, I was an android sent from Mars.  He then proceeded to try to liquefy me and I ended up with this."  She gestured at her black eye, glowering.

I quickly turned my laugh into a hacking cough.  "So where are you off to this fine Saturday morning?" she asked me, shivering slightly and trying to snuggle further down into her sweatshirt.  "Cold, ain't it?  Man, October sucks."

"I'm checkin' on my baby," I said.

"Ah, I see."

"Yeah."

She blinked.  "Hey, aren't you supposed to be grounded?"

"Y'know, Adry, you're not exactly the sharpest hunk o' cheese in the morning, are you?" I laughed, punching her arm.

"I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree," she agreed.

"You're not the most colorful crayon in the box."

"I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed."

"You're not the sharpest pencil in the box."

"I'm not the brightest star in the sky."

"You're not the stickiest stick of glue."

She looked at me.  Her clear gray eyes looked really weird in contrast with the dark purple bruise below them.  "Alright, what's with the glue-stick analogy?" she demanded.

"I thought we were doing school supply metaphors," I said, shrugging.

"Oh.  Ok..." she said absentmindedly.  Louie ran ahead until he reached the end of his leash, and then he came back and carefully wrapped the leash around Adrienne's legs.  "Y'know, today's gonna be the day," she said to me as she untangled herself.

"What day?"

"The day you buy that goddamn guitar."  She tripped over the leash and collapsed against me, causing Krypto to run around the both of us and tangle us up together.

"Really?" I reached for two straps, trying to figure out which one was Krypto's and which was Louie's.

"Yeah.  The blue one's Lou's, by the way," she answered, turning around against my chest and pulling one leg out of the tangled mess.  "How much money do you have on you right now?"

I bent down and slid under one layer of leash.  "Well I've been saving for this thing for about a year, but considering I'm the only guy in Brooklyn who doesn't get an allowance ... I'd say about $200?"

"Well.  I have about three hundred bucks, so I think that combined should cover the cost of your baby and a practice amp ... right?" she said distractedly.  "I mean I know these things are ridiculously expensive but—"

"Yeah, that should be enough."  I studied the situation for a second and then managed to hop out of the web altogether, leaving Adrienne completely wrapped up holding the ends of two leashes.

"Aw thanks, pal," she said sarcastically.

"No problem, hon." I grinned at her.  "Here, give me the end of Krypto's leash— no, it's the other one— no the red one— ok now turn around once clockwise, real slow ... There ya go, you're doing great!"

She gave me the evil eye (as if to say _"Sure, and later on, monkey's might fly outta my butt"_) and reluctantly did as I told her.

It took about ten more minutes to finally get her untangled.  Needless to say, she was not very pleased with Louie, Krypto, or me by the time she was free.  We walked in silence for about twenty seconds.

Actually, exactly twenty seconds.  I timed it.  Adrienne's never been able to hold a grudge for longer than that amount of time.  I seriously looked at my watch and counted the seconds of silence.

Sixteen ... Seventeen ... Eighteen ... Nineteen— 

"So Spot, here's the deal," she said, trying to snuggle down into her sweatshirt again.  Pretty soon all I could see of her was her baseball cap and her hair.  Bloody lunatic ... I swear, one of these days she's gonna get herself killed ... "I'll loan you some money for your guitar obsession," she continued, "but only if you learn how to play 'In a Little While' by U2.  That's all I ask."

I reached over and tugged her head out of her sweatshirt.  "Which one's that again?"

"IN A LITTLE WHIIIILE!  SUURELY YOU'LL BE MIIINE!  IN A LITTLE WHILE I'LL BE THEEERE!  IN A LITTLE WHILE, THIS HURT WILL HURT NO MOOORE!  I'LL BE HOME, LOVE!  WHEN THE NIIIIGHT TAKES A DEEP BREATH—"

"ALRIGHT, I remember!" I yelled, resisting the urge to smack her with my wallet.

Actually, smacking her with my wallet would not be a good idea.  Adrienne's like a squirrel, she's attracted to things that shine.  There's no doubt in my mind that if I were to smack her with that duct-taped thing, she'd grab it and start murmuring creepy stuff like "Oooh, SHINY!"

Ahem.

In the end, however, I did somehow manage to drag Adrienne down to the music store without any more dreadful singing.  We were extremely careful when tying up our dogs at the front; there was always the risk that they would pull a let's-wrap-our-owners-in-our-leashes stunt on us again, and I wasn't particularly keen on the idea of Racetrack seeing that...

The sight that greeted us upon entering the store was surprising and rather overwhelming.  Racetrack was hopping up and down with a guitar (not my baby, thankfully) and playing it better than I knew he could.  Standing next to him was a boy I didn't recognize with dark blonde hair and a patch over his eye, and he was playing the bass guitar and sort of hopping in time with Race.  And there was some other tall, dark-haired guy at the drum set in the corner.

_"In the naaaaaaaaaame of loooooooove!  What moooore in the name of looooove!" _the blonde guy was singing loudly.  _"In the naaaaaaaame of loooooo-ooove!  What more in the name of loooooooove!"_

Race then went into a startling guitar solo, leaning down in concentration, the blonde guy yelling something like "ATTAH BOY, RACETRACK!" over all the noise.  It was a shame to enter the store and see them stop.

"I didn't know you listened to U2," I said as Race leaned the guitar against the wall.  "That was fabulous, the Edge would be proud."

He turned slightly red and ran his fingers through his hair.  "I..."

"He's a complete music fanatic.  He's been taking guitar lessons for five and a half years and he never shuts up about it," the blonde guy with the bass guitar supplied.

"And who, pray tell, are you?" said Adrienne.

"Kid Blink Parker."  He spit into his palm and held it out, grinning slightly.  "Adrienne James, right?  I didn't realize you were like me."

"Hmm?"  She raised an eyebrow delicately, spitting into her own palm and shaking his hand.

"He means the deformed left eyes," said Racetrack.

"I was born blind in one eye," said Blink easily.

"Adrienne, tell him how you got your black eye," I said, trying not to laugh.

She shot me a death glare and opened her mouth (my, she certainly wasn't in a good mood this morning) but was interrupted by another boy coming out of the back room singing loudly and wearing a hat made out of old newspapers.  _"Theeeeeeey're gonna put me in the moooooovies!"_ he sang, prancing about.  _"They're gonna make a big star outta meeeeeee!  They'll make a scene about a man that's sad and loooonleyyyyy!  _SING WITH ME, SKITTERY!  _AND ALL I GOTTA DO IS ACT NATURALLY!"_

He poked the guy behind the drums (Skittery, apparently) in the shoulder and grinned infectiously at him.  "_WELL I BET YOU I'M GONNA BE A BIG STAR!" _he sang at the top of his lungs.  Suddenly he spotted all of us standing there staring at him.

Or rather, he spotted Adrienne.

And Adrienne spotted him.

And the air was filled with ringing bells and choirs of lovely maidens singing gaily and the smell of spring flowers!  Yes, all was at peace with the world!  I half expected dancing fairies to frolic about the music store and sprinkle fairy dust all over us or something.

The new dude walked over to Adrienne and the pair of them looked at each other for a second, him taking in her bruised face and lingering smile, and her taking in his broad grin and rather interesting t-shirt (it was bright orange and had "'I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability' –Oscar Wilde" in bold, black letters across the chest).  They didn't say anything, and they would probably have remained standing there for quite a while had Blink not spoken.

"Um ... Itey, this is Adrienne James.  Adrienne, this is Andrew Marcus."

"Itey."  The guy found his voice.  "My name's Itey, not Andrew."

Adrienne nodded as if she knew what he was talking about, but somehow I wondered if she had taken in a word.  Itey suddenly seemed to remember that he had a newspaper hat on his head, and slowly took it off with a bit of embarrassment.

"So."  Race turned away from the two lovebirds and looked at me.

I blinked.  "Oh yeah — sorry—"

"Here to check on your baby, right?"

"No, actually."  I grinned.

His big brown eyes widened.  "What are you trying to say?" he said slowly.

"Today on October fifth, 2004..." I began dramatically, trying not to smile, "I, Spot Conlon, am going to buy the love of my life for three hundred dollars and fifty cents."

"No!" Racetrack gasped.

"Yes!"

"You're kidding!"

"No!"

"Seriously?"

"YES!"

Race's mouth cracked into a grin.  He grabbed Blink's arm and gazed off into the distance, his eyes shining.  "Gentlemen," he said seriously, "this is an amazing day in the pitiful history of Spot Conlon's life."

"Dude, 'pitiful' seems a little harsh—" I began but he interrupted me.

"He had been friggin' WORSHIPPING this guitar for about half a year, and today he's actually going to buy it," said Race.  "Let's give it up for Spotty!"

"Excuse me!" I tried to yell over the clapping and whooping.  "SPOTTY!?  What the HELL?"

And with that Race kind of paraded over to the guitar case in the corner and unlocked it.  He turned to me, a mock serious expression on his face.  "Are you sure you're ready to do this?" he murmured, his face less than an inch from mine.

_Dear GOD he's hot..._

_NO!  BAD Spot, very very BAD!  He's NOT hot!_

_And he's funny too..._

_AAH!  HEAR NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL!  Leave me ALONE!_

"Yeah, I'm ready," I heard myself say.

"Well then."  Racetrack was suddenly business-like.  "The guitar itself costs about three hundred bucks, but then if you want a practice amp you'll need to add on another hundred.  Ya got the money?"

"'Course I got the money," I said, reaching into the pocket of my blue jeans and pulling out my duct-tape wallet.

"Oooooh, SHINY!" said Adrienne, taking it out of my hands and examining it thoroughly.  (Whoa ... THAT'S SO RAVEN MOMENT!  WOO HOO!)  "You didn't tell me you had a duct-tape wallet, this is fantastic!"

"ADRIENNE!" I cried, grabbing it back, "I'M HAVING A MOMENT HERE!"

"What?"

"I'M BUYING MY GUITAR!"

"YOU ARE???"

All right.  I knew she was kind of spacing out and looking at this Itey guy, but I had no idea the pair of them were so incredibly focused on each other this whole time.  Racetrack had been frolicking around with the guitar, for Christ's sake!

Blink laughed.  "I'll go get the amp," he said and headed into the back room.

"Dude, you're mom's gonna be so pissed," Adrienne said thoughtfully after a minute.

"AAH!"

"What?"

"MY MOM'S GONNA BE SO PISSED!"

Adrienne rolled her eyes at me and put an arm around my shoulder.  "Look—Spot, hon?  I love ya, but sometimes you spaz out too much.  Loosen up a little!  I mean I know that your mom's gonna get wicked ticked off at you and give you the classic lecture about how the electric guitar is the cause of the downfall of Western society ... and come to think of it, she's probably gonna make you return it ... and ground you again ... and take the computer out of your room ... but you have to learn to overcome that!"

"Thanks, Adrienne," I said sarcastically.

"She's right, though," said Itey.

_Course she is, you dumbass, she's the hottest girl you've ever seen._

"But—"

"Aw c'mon, Spotty, grow a backbone!" Race groaned.

"All right, the 'Spotty' thing has GOT to stop," I said, irritated.

"Spotty!!" Adrienne sang, hopping up and down.

"I can't buy this guitar!" I moaned.

"You must!" said Blink, coming back out of the back room and poking me.

"My mom'll kill me!" I moaned.

"So?"

"So I'll be dead!"

"So?"

"Aw shut up, Racetrack..."

"You must buy this guitar!" Adrienne commanded.

"I can't!"

"Screw your mom!"

"I'd rather not..."

Race groaned again and put his face in his hands.  "Spot, sometimes you amaze me," he said through his fingers.  "How the hell are you so insane on IM when you're such a spaz in real life??  Just buy the goddamn guitar!!" spas

"You don't GET it!" I snapped.  "You wanna know why I'm such a spaz in real life?  'Cause ever since my dad walked out on me and my mom, she's been a total nutcase!  She's completely paranoid and watches my every move and I just _can't_ buy this thing ... You have no idea how pissed she'd get, I'm not kidding, she'd hit the roof.  Am I right, Adrienne?  C'mon, back me up here."

She looked reluctant.  "He's right, actually..." she said slowly.  "She'd probably ground him for the rest of his life or sommat..."

"So you're gonna let her live your life for you?" said Skittery quietly from the corner.  We all turned around and looked at him.  He ran his fingers through his unkempt hair, dark eyes fixed directly on me.  "Is that what you want?"

Whoa.  I had almost forgotten that dude was there.

And no, that wasn't what I wanted.

I opened my mouth, closed it, and tore my eyes away from that strange guy.  "Listen, I gotta go.  I think Krypto's trying to sniff Louie's ass ... which is kinda sick, considering they're both guys..."

That seemed to make a little light bulb click in Racetrack's head.  His eyebrows shot up as if remembering something he had meant to do.  He opened his mouth and then closed it again, apparently deciding not to say whatever he was going to say.  

I smiled at him.  "What was that?"

"Nothing..." he said quietly — almost as though he was disappointed in himself.  

I waited a minute, head tilted to the side, before shrugging and putting my hands in my pockets.  "Well I gotta go.  See you fellahs later.  Maybe next time, alright?"

"Sure.  And later on, monkey's might fly outta my butt," Race muttered, taking out the keys and putting my baby back into her case.

Man.  People have GOT to stop saying that.

I shrugged again and nodded at the group of them.  They just stood there, Blink with his hands in his pockets, Itey and Adrienne still facing each other but looking at me, Race leaning against the glass case, Skittery in the corner with his drums.  All looking at me with a mixture of disappointment and something else I couldn't place.

I went back outside.  As I had predicted, Krypto was indiscreetly sniffing Louie's butt.  Louie didn't seem to notice.  "My dog's gay," I muttered, untying his leash from the bike rack.  "My dog's gay and so am I.  Birds of a feather."

Whoa.

Where did _that_ come from?

"I made the right decision in there, though, didn't I?  Not buying the guitar?" I asked him as we walked away.  He stopped and looked up at me, big brown eyes wide and meaningful.  I stared back at him for a minute before my shoulders slumped in defeat.  I patted him sadly on the head.  "Your doubtful silence is very reassuring."

-----

**_Shoutouts!!!_**

**__**

**Liams Kitten: **HAHA I love your action figure ideas!!  This could be a big hit, if you ask me. lol, thanks for reviewing, I love you!!

**rumor:** lol!!  Ok I'm sorry but I had no idea what the hell you were talking about for like half the review, but I found it extremely amusing nonetheless.  And yes, Green Day is just about as good as it gets.  Thanks for the review, I love ya!

**Aelia O'Hession:** Aww thank you!! :-D :-D I see that I'm not the only person who says "dude" much more often than the average human being, lol.  Thanks for the review!

**singin'-newsies-goil:** Ooh update ASAP before I come after you with spears!  MWAHA!  Ok I'm a little delirious ... got no sleep last night ... Anyway, thanks for the review!

**Shadowlands:** Aha, the title.  Well originally it was gonna be "AOL 9.0" like that was the version of AOL they had or something ... but apparently fanfiction.net doesn't allow decimal points between numbers.  So it is AOL 90.  And I'm not creative enough to think of a new title, so ... yeah.  Thanks for the review, I love ya!

**studentnumber24601:** Aww thanks!  Shut up, you're one hell of a writer and I refuse to believe you could create anything worse than the stuff I'm working on now.  :-)  Sadly enough, I talk to myself too (although I haven't gotten to the point of naming the lions in front of the Public Library yet) and manage to earn myself a handful of funny looks a day.  Ah well, c'est la vie.  Anyway, thanks for the review!

**nani at 12 o'clock:** Ooooooh... *slaps forehead* Sorry about the Mario comment ... lol, hope I didn't offend you or anything... *shrivels up and dies* Yeah, life's a big musical for me too ... I've actually been accused of knowing TOO MANY songs, which I didn't think was possible ... Thanks for the review, I love ya!

**SpotLover421:** Aah I saw your little "(sue me, I'm lazy)" next to your name and the funny little voice in my head said "Sue you I shall".  I think I'm losin' it ... Anyway thanks for the review, and I'm sorry Anastasia's still stuck in your head!  (Unless that's a good thing ... in which case I am glad!) ;-D

**Coin:** lol!!!  "There's a guy in my history class named Mario, and I do not like him."  Aaah I dunno WHY that cracked me up so much ... Thanks for reviewing!

**Sapphy:** WOO HOO, MAMBO!  *hops around*  I'm glad you liked Lia, the homeless dude (who I am ashamed to say that I never named), and the lions.  Thanks SO MUCH for the review, you rock my socks!!

**Splashey:** lol!!  That story was so random but that's why I love you. ;-)  WOO HOO, GO GREEN DAY!  I love them to death!  Hmm ... I have no idea why you thought of a Chinese restaurant.  Are _you_ Chinese?  Lol, thanks for the review, I love ya!

-----

[1] WAYNE'S WORLD!  WAYNE'S WORLD!  PARTY TIME!  EXCELLENT!!

**Author's Note: ***shrugs* Not my best work, but I've been wanting to get this out for a while.  Leave a review and I'll love you forever!

-Saturday


	10. Chapter Nine: Racetrack

**Author's Note:** Sorry I haven't updated in so long, my sister accidentally spilled water on our keyboard and rendered this computer useless for about a week. Believe me, it was hell. But — hallelujah! — Mommy went to Staples and got a new keyboard! (And personally I think it's pretty neat, lol)

**Disclaimer:** All the newsies are the property of Disney, all the song lyrics belong to their respective owners, The Cricket in Times Square belongs to George Selden, and everything else belongs to me. Ohh I'm filthy rich, I am!

-----

"Honestly, I think you should have bitch-slapped him," said Lia, carefully twirling her spaghetti around her fork.

"Lia! Watch your mouth!" Mama cried, lightly slapping her arm.

"What does 'bitch-slap' mean?" asked Angelo curiously.

"Well I certainly _wanted_ to bitch-slap him," I said, shrugging. "The kid's a total lunatic, always spazzing out about what his mom's gonna think..."

"So bitch-slap his mom too," said Gino. "Pass the cheese."

"Gino!" Papa warned.

"What does 'bitch-slap' mean?" Angelo repeated.

"Pass the cheese," said Gino again.

"Well was his mom gonna be ticked off if spent 400 bucks on a guitar and practice amp?" asked Lia.

"Well yeah..."

"I met Gino's new English teacher today!" said Angelo suddenly.

"Hey, that's nothing to be proud of," said Gino sternly. "She looks like a duck with a mole the size of a grapefruit on the side of her neck. Talks like she has a clothespin pinched on her nose, it's terrifying."

"She was mean." Angelo glowered at his spaghetti. "She said I looked like Gino."

"_Hey!_"

"Oh, you mean Mrs. Hartlein?" said Lia, the corner of her mouth turning up. "Bloody lunatic. You know what she said to me today?"

I allowed my mind to drift away from the conversation, still thinking about Spot. He was so ... I just didn't understand the way his little pea brain worked. He was all set to buy the goddamn guitar, and then he had to go and remember what his _mom _would do. Sometimes I worry about the poor kid. Maybe I _should_ have bitch-slapped him...

I poked gingerly at my spaghetti. I was still kind of ticked off at myself that at I hadn't told Spot my feelings for him yet. I had, however, had good grounds for not telling; I mean all our friends were right there — well, except Specs and Dutchy, but I was under the suspicion that they were gay anyway — and the last thing I wanted to do was confirm my sexual orientation with Itey singing the Beatles over my shoulder.

And then there was always the possibility that Spot _wasn't_ gay, that he _didn't_ like me back, and that was just more than I could stand. I'm selfish like that.

"...I hope Tom gives her the flu," Lia was saying grimly.

"Thomas has de flu?" asked Mama, concerned.

"I think so, yeah." She shrugged, downing the rest of her milk in one gulp. "I mean he's been sniffing and coughing and sneezing and all that good stuff, so he's definitely sick. He almost threw up during English today. Probably not coming to school tomorrow, by the looks of it."

"Can I be excused?" I said, not particularly keen on taking part in this conversation.

"Of course, Tony," said Papa.

"Oh don't leave, Tony, don't you want to discuss Lia's friend's symptoms?" Gino cried. "So tell me, Lia, is Tom also suffering from diarrhea and severe depression?"

Lia flipped him off and took some of his spaghetti. Mama, luckily, didn't notice. "Anthony, I completely forgot to a-tell you! Your friend — Trey, no? He a-called about an hour ago when you were-a in de shower. I tol' heem you woul' call heem back as soon as you could."

Trey? Who the hell was Trey?

Oh. Blink. Right.

I've got to work on remembering my friend's real names.

"Thanks, mama, I'll call him back now," I said and dumped my plate into the sink.

"The cordless phone's in me and Lia's room," said Gino, watching with amusement as Lia desperately tried to get Angelo to stop sticking his middle finger up before Mama and Papa noticed.

I grinned and made my way over to their room. Taking a deep breath, I threw all my weight against the door and managed to force it open.

It's a never-ending cycle. Every Monday morning Mama makes the twins clean their room, and it always looks fabulous. By Sunday, however, a week's worth of junk has accumulated and made it nearly impossible to get around.

I waded through a sea of old sweatshirts, blue jeans, and boxer shorts, holding my breath, and spotted the cordless phone mounted atop a vast heap of textbooks.

"Aha!" I muttered, and immediately went into Crocodile Hunter-mode, bending my knees and holding my hands out in front of me. "'Ere we seey the woild cordless phone in its nat'ral 'abitat, preparin' to perform the tradition'l matin' dance wid a beau'iful female sock. If I c'n jest get around behind it, I think I c'n grab it 'round the ankol and capture it..."

All right, so I watch "Animal Planet" too much for my own good. It's a good channel, all right?

In any case, I managed capture the phone and hurry out of the room, feeling rather lightheaded. It smells _so bad _in there...

I threw myself onto my bed and hit the Redial button, gazing absentmindedly at my Harrison Ford poster. The phone rang three times before Blink's mom picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, can I please speak to Blink? — Aah, Trey?"

"Sure thing, Tony, hold on a minute."

I love how Mrs. Parker always knows it's me because I every time I call, I forget to call Blink by his real name.

After a minute, Blink came on. "Heya Race, what's up?"

"Mama said you called earlier," I said.

"Oh yeah." His voice immediately took on an excited tone and I could almost hear him grinning. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"You know Amnesty International?"

"I'm Nasty Inter-wha?"

He groaned. "Amnesty International. It's a human rights group; we've got about thirty members at our high school alone. Come on, you've heard of it. Skittery was in it for a while, they meet every Wednesday afternoon?"

I wrinkled up my nose, thinking hard. "Is Mrs. Fahey in charge of it?"

"Yep."

"All right, I think I gotchya."

"Yeah, well you'd better. They're organizing a Jamnesty — like an unofficial concert for high school bands." His voice got all excited again. "And guess what?"

"What, Blink?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"We've been invited!!"

"Seriously?"

"Yes! We have to get our lyrics to her by Tuesday, just so she can ok them to make sure we aren't singing about getting laid or anything — and then we're in!"

"Dude. That's pretty fucking awesome."

"Yeah. Itey almost wet himself when I told him, Skittery had to take him into the other room to calm him down."

I laughed. Blink, Mush, Skittery, Itey and I had been in a sort of unofficial band for a while now. We called ourselves the Jaywalkers (and most of us really _were_ jaywalkers, so it all worked out in the end). I played the guitar, Mush played the bass, Skittery the drums, Itey the keyboard, and Blink sang. I wouldn't go so far as to say we were _good_, but we certainly weren't that _bad ... _I was just surprised we had been invited to play in front of an audience. Wow.

"Wow," I said.

"Yeah, I know."

"So how _is_ Itey now, by the way? Still completely love-sick over Adrienne?"

Blink chuckled. "He's been kind of wobbling around all afternoon. I'm really starting to worry."

"Never fear, the effects should wear off soon once he realizes how bizarre she really is," I reassured him.

"I think that'll just turn him on more."

"Oh. Point taken."

We sat there for a minute in comfortable silence. I entertained the idea of going onto the computer and telling Spot my exciting news, but in the end I decided it would take too much of an effort to get off the bed. He probably wouldn't give much of a shit, anyway.

All right, he'd give half a shit. I deserve that much, right? Considering all we've gone through together, he'd at least _pretend_ to care despite his bad mood.

Enlivened by the idea of getting half a shit from Spot, I sat up a bit straighter on my bed and grinned slightly. "So what's up?" I asked Blink good-naturedly.

"Thinking about Mush's sister," he replied blatantly. "God, she's such a hottie."

"Poor Mushie..."

All right, I never said I was gay. I don't deny that I'm definitely doubting my sexual orientation at the moment, but Cecilia Meyers is the closest thing to keeping me straight. Long dark hair, caramel-colored skin, a willowy figure to match Lia's ... I kind of squirmed and fell back onto my pillow. Yowza.

"Did you know she listens to Aerosmith?" said Blink suddenly. "How much of a turn-on is that?"

"DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY!" I yelled.

"SHUT UP, TONY, WE'RE TRYING TO FINISH DINNER IN HERE!" Gino called bluntly from the kitchen.

Blink laughed. "Listen, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, all right?"

"Sure. See ya tomorrow."

"Bye."

I hung up and sat bored for a minute before swinging myself off my bed and grabbing The Cricket in Times Square.

None of my family knew I was reading it, and I didn't plan on them finding out. Papa would want me to describe it to him, Mama would want to read it herself and make sure there was no vulgar language or obscene implications, Lia would laugh and write a song about me and my boyfriend's book, Gino would laugh even harder and steal it from me when I wasn't looking, and Angelo would want me to read a chapter to him every night.

No, all in all I had decided that the best decision was to keep the whole book secret.

I was on Chapter Twelve by now, and I'm ashamed to admit I was really getting into it. Chester Cricket had come to New York by accident from Connecticut — he had been trapped in a picnic basket, long story — and he immediately made friends with Tucker the mouse, Harry the cat, and this kid named Mario. After a while they figured out that Chester had an incredibly good ear; he could hear a song on the radio and then chirp it out and remember it forever.

Kinda like Mush at the bass. Lucky bastard...

Mario's family kind of reminded me of my own, except with only one kid instead of four. They were Italian and not particularly well off. Mama was short and loud and blunt, and Papa was tall and quiet and gentle. And they listened to opera all the time.

Ha. Poor kid. I felt his pain.

Flopping onto my stomach, I opened the book to where I had left off last night and began to read.

**It was two o'clock in the morning.**

_Two o'clock in the morning, it's quiet and there's no one around ... Just the bang and the clatter as an angel runs to ground!_ God, I love U2...

**Chester Cricket's new manager, Tucker Mouse, was pacing up and down in front of the cricket cage. Harry Cat was lying on the shelf with his tail drooping over the edge, and Chester himself was relaxing in the matchbox.**

**"I have been giving the new situation my serious consideration," said Tucker Mouse solemnly. "As a matter of fact, I couldn't think of anything else all day. The first thing to understand is: Chester Cricket is a very talented person."**

Ha! I could sing Italian Opera if you stuck me in a cricket cage and fed me Chinese food, but would people call _me_ talented? I think NOT!

**"Hear! Hear!" said Harry. Chester smiled at him. He was really an awfully nice person, Harry Cat was.**

Ooh, I definitely sense some romantic interaction between the two of them. But what in hell would the _children_ look like??

**"The second thing is: talent is something rare and beautiful and precious, and it must not be allowed to go to waste."**

Amen to that!

**Tucker cleared his throat. "And the third thing is: there might be — who could tell? — a little money in it, maybe."**

I decided I liked Tucker Mouse very much. Definitely my kind of rodent. No wonder this was Spot's favorite book...

"TONY, GET YOUR ASS IN HERE, IT'S YOUR NIGHT TO DO THE DISHES!" Gino bellowed from the kitchen. I heard Mama snap in Italian, threatening to wash his and Lia's mouths out with soap if they didn't learn to speak "like normal people".

In other words, they had to stop swearing or they'd be in deep shit.

Heh heh...

I chuckled, slipped The Cricket in Times Square under my bed, and kind of paraded into the kitchen. (Books with talking animals tend to have that sort of effect on me...)

"Have a nice little chat with Blinky?" asked Lia audaciously as she cleared the table.

I glared at her. She definitely had a thing for Blink, and it totally creeped me out. What if they actually — like, _went out_?? I shuddered at the very thought and quickly turned on the hot water in the sink.

The only family in New York City without a dishwasher?

Yep, that's us.

Gino dumped his plate in the sink. "_Si le so almore che io e te,"_ he sang dreamily, _"forse stiamo insieme zitti stiamo—"_

"Aw cut it out, Gino," Lia snapped, smacking the back of his head.

_"AS ASCOLTARE IL CIELO ALLA FINESTRA!"_ he finished loudly and ducked as she swung for his head again.

She ended up smacking me. My face almost hit the faucet, and I turned around and glared at her. She smiled sheepishly and handed me her dirty plate. "Wash this for me, will ya?"

"Don't do it!" Gino mouthed over her shoulder. I rolled my eyes at him and took the plate from her.

"HA! I win!" Lia gloated.

"I'm the cooler sibling, though," said Gino seriously.

"Are not!"

"I took him to see 'Charlie's Angels'!"

"He hated that movie!"

"We were having special male bonding time, all right?"

"Watching a chic flick...?"

"Well he liked Cameron Diaz."

"No he didn't, he was more interested in Bill Murray!"

Now it was my turn to smack Lia. She grinned apologetically at me. "I took him to see 'Miracle'," she amended quickly. "He liked _that_ movie."

"Yeah but only because you gave him Swedish Fish!" Gino cried.

"That is NOT true!"

"And you only liked it because you think Nathan West is cute!"

"THAT IS NOT TRUE EITHER!"

"Personally," I cut in, "I think I like Angelo better than the both of you."

They both glared at me for a minute. "Aw shid," Lia mumbled, her voice suddenly very nasal, "pass me a tissue dere, Gin, quick—"

Unfortunately, Gino wasn't quick enough.

And I was sneezed upon.

At the time I didn't realize the significance of that sneeze. Of course it was absolutely disgusting and earned Lia about a hundred more smacks on the back of the head, but little did I know just how big an effect it would eventually have on my life.

Funny how little things like that can have a chain reaction, eh? THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT!! Or like in The Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury, when the guy goes back in time and crushes the butterfly and the destiny of the entire human race is influenced?

Dude.

Maybe I should stop thinking and just wash the dishes.

-----

**_Shoutouts!!!_**

**__**

**Liams Kittens: **Oh MUSH! –(tackles him in hug)- How SWEET! And cookies too?? –(tackles you too)- -(turns to nonexistent audience)- They like me, they really LIKE ME!! And don't worry, I don't think your action figure joke is "OLD DEAD and ROTTING with frukin MAGGOTS DIGESTING IT", lol. We could make big bucks with those things. Thanks SO MUCH for the review, I love ya!!

**clover6776:** Aww thank you so much!! :-D

**blackblood:** Aha, another U2 fan!! –(does happy dance)- Thanks so much for the review!!! Love the name, by the way. Very dramatic, lol. ;-)

**LaurelCrowned1:** lol!! Ohh the IRONY! I mess up metaphors all the time too, it's pretty pathetic. No idea WHY Mrs. Nizel put me into Honors English next year. One of the great mysteries of the world. Anyway, thanks for the review!! :-)

**Gothic Author:** lol! I'm very glad my story has succeeded in amusing you so (and your whole "conversation" with Technical!Spot cracked me up). Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Alexandra Paige:** You, my dear, are most certainly not a shitty reviewer. I have never been more flattered in my life. (Good god, I sound like an old woman!) lol, thank SO much for the review, I love ya! :-D

**Shadowlands:** -(tackles you in a flying glomp)- I'm really running out of clever responses to your reviews. I feel so boring. ;-)

**rumor:** lol!! You're definitely one of my favorite reviewers. ;-) I admit that I've also watched waaaay too many SNL sketches than is considered healthy, I've gotten to the point where I can relate almost everything I do to one of the skits ... SPACEBALLS! WOO HOO! Love that movie ... even more so now that I realized Dentin and Lonestar are the same guy. Lol, thanks for reviewing, I love ya!!

**Aelia O'Hession:** Yet another thing we have in common: falling off chairs. ;-) Thanks so much for the review (and don't worry, I have a tendency to write heavy dramatic stuff too; it's all good!)

**splashey:** Never fear, your rambling amuses me to no end. I got the monkeys flying outta butts thing from Wayne's World, but I've also seen "Bruce Almighty" (awesome movie, by the way). I'm not Chinese either; Irish, English, and Canadian. How boring can you get? Lol, thanks for the review, I love ya!

**Madison Square:** WOO HOO, ITEY FANS UNITE! I admit I have a HUGE Itey fetish. I used to hate him, and now I adore him beyond belief. Funny how things turn out that way ... Thanks so much for reviewing!!

**mydracomalfoy:** When I first saw your name, the first thing that popped into my head was "No, _my_ Draco Malfoy!" I think I've finally lost it ... Anyway, thanks SO MUCH for reviewing, you had me grinning like an idiot here, lol. :-D

**Sapphy:** Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it I really like John Mayer. Good music. :-D Thanks so much for reviewing, I love ya! (And I do hear ya roar, Cupid, loud and clear! )

**SpotLover421:** Aww thanks!! I'm very excited, we're finally NEARING THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY!! –(gasp!)- Yeah, I'm a melodramatic loser. You were in Bye Bye Birdie?? AAH! I love that play SO MUCH. All right, I say that about every play I see, but ESPECIALLY that one. WOO HOO! Thanks so much for reviewing, I love ya!

**PsYcHoJo:** Of COURSE Skittery made an appearance! I love him to death, lol. Thanks so much for the review!

**singin'-newsies-goil:** Yeah, you'd BETTER update soon. -(sharpens spear against a rock)- lol, thanks for reviewing!! 

**uninvisible:** DEAR GOD your review made me laugh. You're such a nutcase! "It's not a wallet, it's a pouch, and it's awesome because no one will ever suspect a duct tape blob." WOO HOO! Well Spot has a wallet because he is very feminine. :-D Thanks SO MUCH for reviewing, I love ya!

**Scout73:** Don't worry, I can totally relate. One time during Math class, Hannah and I spent literally two full minutes staring at some shiny thing out the window. ("What do you think it is?" "I don't know. But it's really shiny." "It's pretty." "Yeah.") It was quite pathetic. Anyway, thanks so much for reviewing, I love ya! (And of COURSE Itey has a six-pack! He's a sexy beast!!)

-----

**Author's Note:** Wow, this was quite a pointless chapter. Just building up to the climax (which really will happen at some point, I promise, lol). Thanks to all reviewers, you are my GODS!! MWAH!

-Saturday


	11. Chapter Ten: Spot

**Author's Note: **I'm updating!!  WOO HOO!  "It's a Christmas miracle!" (Yes, I quoted Liams Kitten.  So shoot me, I love her.)

**Disclaimer:** I own Adrienne, Lia, Gino, Angelo, Mama, Papa, Spot's mom, and Krypto.  I don't own any of the Newsies, nor do I own any of the song lyrics. :-)

**Dedication:** A very late dedication to Liams Kitten 'cause it was her birthday about a month ago!!  WOO HOO! ((hands out party hats))

-----

"Hello hello hello!" said Lia happily, opening the door and genuflecting.  "Welcome, good sir, to our humble home!"

Gino pushed her aside.  "Sorry 'bout that, she's a bit off the wall tonight..." he muttered.  I grinned and he let me in, closing the door behind him.  "Tony's in his room," he added.

"Thanks," I said and headed down the hall towards Race's room.

The door was ajar and I let myself in, knocking gently.  Race was sitting up in bed, his nose rather pink, his bed piled with Vicks Vapo Rub, some sort of cough medicine, a hot water bottle, and about a hundred crumpled tissues.  "Heya Spot," he said in a very congested voice.

"Heya Racey-baby," I answered seriously.

He managed to pull off a half-assed smile and kicked some of the stuff off his bed.  "Spot, I'm dying," he said.

If he had grabbed my heart, ripped it out of my chest, and kicked it across the floor, it could not possibly have hurt more than what he had just said.  My mouth went dry and I found myself at a loss for words.  Race couldn't be ... Just the other day he had been perfectly fine...

"Spot?"

I found my voice.  "No.  This isn't possible.  No, you can't do this to me, Race.  You can't go dying on me, I need you, I love—"

"JESUS CHRIST, SPOT, I WAS EXAGGERATING!" he yelled.

"What?" I said slowly, my jaw dropping.

He groaned and put his face in his hands.  "I'm not seriously dying, dumbass.  I just feel like complete shit 'cause Lia sneezed on me and gave me the flu, and I need to ask you a favor.  All right?"

Oh.  I knew that.

I put my hands in my pockets and looked embarrassedly at the floor.  "Sure, anything," I mumbled.

"Well, uh..." He cleared his throat, choked, spit into a tissue, and went into a coughing fit.  I waited patiently, drumming my fingertips against my leg and listening to Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment by the Ramones playing in my head.  "Sorry about that," he said after a minute.

"No problem.  Lovely background music."

"Why thank you."  He grinned.  "So anyway, you know how I'm in the band with Blink, Mush, Itey, and Skittery, right?  The Jaywalkers?"

"You are?"

"YES!  God, Spot, I tell you this like every day and you always have THE SAME REACTION."

"No I don't!" I said defensively, crossing my arms over my chest.

"AUGH!  Anyway, we've been invited to the Jamnesty hosted by Amnesty International."

"I'm Nasty Inter-wha?"

"Spot, were you and Krypto sniffing glue before you came here?  You seem a little out of it today..."

Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue!!  That's another Ramones song!!  _NOW I WANNA SNIFF SOME GLUE! _... Something about something new ... _ALL THE KIDS WANNA SNIFF SOME GLUE!!  _Then I remembered that Race was looking at me and waiting for an answer to his question.  What had he asked me again?  Oh yeah.  I blinked.  "...Why would I sniff glue with my dog?"

He groaned and sort of sank down into his pillows, burying his face in his hands again.  "SPOT.  LISTEN TO ME," he said very slowly and clearly.  "I CANNOT GO TO THE CONCERT TOMORROW BECAUSE I AM SICK.  I NEED YOU TO FILL IN FOR ME."

It took a minute for the words to really sink in.  "Whoa," I said after a second of silence.  "You want me to play guitar?  In your band?  In front of PEOPLE??"

"Yep."

"AHH!"

I kind of fell over and ended up sitting on his floor with the doorknob caught on my shirt.  He looked at me with interest.  "Are you really this afraid of performing in front of people?" he asked curiously.  "You're an awesome guitarist, you know that, right?  You'll be fine."

"Well aren't you Mr. Reassuring," I said brilliantly as I tried to get the back of my shirt off the doorknob.

"You'll get to play U2 songs," said Race, grinning at me.

"I don't care," I lied angrily.

"...You can play your baby, if you want to."

My fingers slipped and the edge of my shirt tore.  I looked up at Racetrack, careful to keep my face clear of expression before I could see whether he was joking or not.  He looked completely serious.  "Are you ... kidding me?" I said slowly.

His grin broadened.  "No."

"Are you _sure_ you're not kidding me??"

"YES."

I leapt up, pranced over to him, and tackled him in a hug.  "Ohh thank you thank you thank you I'd _love_ to play for you in your band I've always wanted to play that guitar and now I can and it's so _incredibly _exciting and I love you ahh!!"  And I buried my face in his shoulder, sobbing hysterically and ignoring his muffled yells of "GEDDOFF ME, CONLON" and "YOU'RE GONNA GET THE FLU, YOU MORON".

Krypto started barking impatiently outside (I had left him there when Race called from the window during our walk) and I hopped across the room in what I admit was an extremely feminine manner.  "It's tonight, then?" I said happily.

"I'll E-mail you a link to the site," said Race, and he blew his nose.

I struck a pose.  "Tonight — I shall be a _star_!!" I sang, and spontaneously blowing a kiss to him, I sort of sashayed from the room.

"You definitely _have_ been sniffing glue!" Race yelled after me.

-----

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THE NEWS TODAY!!  OH I CAN'T CLOSE MY EYES AND MAKE IT GO AWAY!  HOW LONG, HOW LONG MUST WE SING THIS SONG?  HOW LONG, HOW LOOOOOONG?"

"I feel so 80's!!" said Adrienne happily.  She bent down over my stereo and turned up the volume so that we could actually feel the vibrations in the floor.

"Since when is U2 80's?" Specs demanded, raising an eyebrow.

She scowled at him — or at least tried to.  "For your information, _War_ officially came out in 1983," she said with as much attitude as Adrienne James can pull off.

"Well _sor-ry!_"

"Yeah, you'd better be, girlfriend!"

I watched them amusedly, the only thought running through my mind being, _If I've been sniffing glue, these guys were definitely there sniffing with me._

"All I need now is a baggy t-shirt and tight pants," said Adrienne thoughtfully as she flung open the doors of my closet.  "Got any of those leggings from seventh grade, Spotty?"

I scowled at her.  "You know, we almost went a year without mentioning that..."

"You wore LEGGINGS in seventh grade??" Dutchy cackled, leaning against Specs and looking at my legs.

"NO I DIDN'T!" I lied unconvincingly and tucked my legs under my covers.

Adrienne, meanwhile, had found my baggiest sweatshirt and tightest old leggings and had pulled them on.  (Yes, she changed in front of us.  Dude, who would have thought National Geographic underpants existed?)  She then bent over and pulled her dark hair into a ponytail at the top of her head.  "Now I match Bono!" she said excitedly.

"Bono never dressed like _that_..." said Specs, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but Spot did," said Adrienne.

_"Guyyyyyys!" _I moaned.

"I wanna dress like Spot too!" exclaimed Dutchy.

Specs leapt up and raised his hand in the air.  "ME THREE, ME THREE!"

"This is HUMILIATING!" I yelled, running out of the room and pretending to burst into tears.  I could still hear the music all the way down the hall, combined with their laughter, and caught myself thinking anxiously that Mom would be up any minute to yell at me to turn it down.  Then I remembered she was out with some friends for the afternoon.  "Sheesh, even when she's not home, I'm completely paranoid..." I muttered, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes and leaning against the wall.

Little stars danced across my vision.  Ohh, that one's pretty...  Looks kind of like Krypto's nose.  And that one looks like a spotlight!!  A big yellow spotlight shining directly onto me!  Maybe I should start to play the guitar!  That's what I'm going to have to do tonight, anyway...

I opened my eyes suddenly, feeling like my stomach had turned to lead.

I was playing the guitar tonight.

In front of _an audience._

I started to hyperventilate.  I was _not _the kind of person who did well in front of crowds; my hands got slimy and my mouth went dry and sometimes I got a strange convulsive twitching in my abdominal muscles.  Ahh I could NOT do this!!

I reached over and grabbed the phone, dialing Racetrack's number.  It rang twice before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, can I talk to Tony?"

"Who are you?"

"You can just call me Spot, all right?  And who are you?"

"You have a really weird name."

"Yeah, I know."

"My name's Angelo, but you can call me Dot.  Now we match!"

"That made my day.  Really."

"Dot dot dot..."

"How old are you, kid?"

"I'm six."

"Well I'm sixteen."

"Really??  You're old.  Almost as old as Gino.  He's really REALLY old, but he doesn't act it.  Neither does Lia.  They're weird."

"Yep.  So is Racetrack around?"

"Who's ... Racetrack?"

"Aah sorry, Tony."

"Why are you calling him if you don't even know his name?"

"It's a long story..."

"I don't trust you any more than I can throw you.  HAHA!"

"Where did you learn a phrase like _that_?"

"Lia.  She made me watch 'Ferris Wheel's Day Off' yesterday."

"I'm assuming you mean Ferris Bueller..."

"Tony's sick.  Lia gave him the flu, and now he's sleeping."

"I know.  Between you and me, I think it's a major turn-on."

"What?"

"AAH nothing!!"

"You're weird..."

"Yeah, I know.  Well can you wake Ra—Tony up?"

"No."

"And why, pray tell, not?"

"'Cause his whole room smells like Vicks Vapo Rub.  It's really gross."

"Ah.  Right."

"But you can talk to me until he wakes up!"

"...I actually have to go."

"Aw really?  That sucks."

"Hey, watch your mouth, kid."

"You sound like Mama, except you're a boy."

"Well I would hope so."

"I'm glad you're a boy.  There's this girl who's always calling for Tony.  It's soo annoying.  She always says 'Hi, it's Bambi, let me talk to Racey-baby!'"

"And what do you do?"

"I say no and hang up.  She's annoying."

"Yeah, she _is_ pretty annoying."

"Do you know her?"

"Vaguely."

"Eww.  Are you guys FRIENDS??"

"NO!"

"Good.  Girl friends are gross."

"Hey, my best friend is a girl and she's not gross."

"Are you guys like ... _going out_?"

"NO!  I think she's gay, really ... actually, scratch that, she has no sexual inclination whatsoever ... actually, scratch that too, she's in love with Itey.  So we're NOT going out!"

"I think Tony's gay."

My mouth opened slightly.  What the _hell_?

"He talks about this guy called Gabriel all the time, the way Gino talks about his girlfriend Julie.  It's totally GROSS!" Angelo (Dot) continued happily.

"What is?"

"Gino's girlfriend.  She looks like a math teacher."

"...Do you really think Tony's gay?"

"I don't know.  He's weird."

"Cheers to that."

"...What?"

"Never mind.  Well anyway, tell Tony that I called."

"Who are you?"

"Spot, remember?"

"And I'm Dot!!  HAHAHAHA!  ...Why did you call, anyway?"

I ran a hand through my hair, wondering how much I should tell this kid.  For all I knew it was just Racetrack messing with my mind.  "I just wanted to talk to him 'cause I'm nervous."

"Why?"

"'Cause I have to play guitar in front of a billion people tonight and I don't want to anymore."

"Why are you doing that if you don't want to, then?  That's stupid."

"'Cause I promised Race I would.  He's too sick to play, so I'm playing for him tonight.  It's his band performing, y'know?"

"Oh..."  The kid seemed to consider for a minute before speaking again.  "Well you should still do it, 'cause you promised.  One time I broke a promise to my friend Hayden, and he tried to hit me on the head with his bicycle."

"I swear I wasn't that insane when I was six..."

"If you break your promise to Tony, he'll be real mad."

"You think so?"

"Yeah.  He's grumpy that way.  Besides, you're a good guitar-player."

I raised my eyebrows, very confused.  "Wha — how the hell would you know that?"

"'Cause you're Gabriel.  Aren't you?  I know you are, Tony talks about you _all the time_ and you sound _exactly like him_.  And he'll be really sad if you don't keep your promise and go tonight."

My jaw had now dropped so far that it was in danger of becoming unhinged.  I quickly closed my mouth and tried to sound casual.  "Look, I really gotta go."

"Should I tell Tony that you called?"

"...No.  Nah, don't mention it to him.  This'll be our little secret, all right?"

"Sure, Spot.  GABRIEL."

"Aw, shut up, kid."

"Goodbye!"

He hung up and so did I, leaning back against the wall and thinking hard.  A smile flickered across my face as I came to my conclusion.

I'd go to the Jamnesty tonight if it killed me.

-----

**_Shoutouts!!!_**

**__**

**uninvisible:** HAHAHA!  Thank you for your detailed analysis of why your family doesn't use your dishwasher ... and thanks for the review, I love ya!!

**Clover6776:** Aww thank you so much!! :-D ((grins like an idiot))

**Alexandra Paige:** Have I mentioned how much I love your reviews?  You're hysterical, and I must admit that I'm completely star-struck (I love your work, lol).  How old is Omni?  (I'm assuming you mean Omniscience Bookseller...) She's amazing, her stuff just kind of leaves you speechless — a very difficult thing to do to me.  Thanks for reviewing, I love ya!

**splashey:** Honestly?  I'd rather not swallow a Popsicle stick. :-)  Miracle is an AWESOME movie, and The Cricket in Times Square is an AWESOME book so ... HA, I suppose.  Lol, thanks for reviewing, I love ya!

**nani at 12 o'clock:** I FORGOT YOUR SHOUTOUT?!?  ACK, I'm sorry!! ((shuts ears in oven)) And I'm sorry you don't have a dishwasher — "roach and rat epidemic"??  Surely not!  That's awful!  Anyway, thanks for reviewing!!

**Strawberri Shake:** You now officially have the yummiest penname ever.  Dude, every time I see your name I get an intense craving for strawberry ice cream ... Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**Aelia O'Hession:** Serious medieval torture?  Sweet!!  "Take them to the Iron Maiden."  "Excellent!"  "Execute them."  "Bogus..."  Aw man, Bill and Ted, my two gods.  Ohh, how I love them so!  Lol, thanks for reviewing!

**Coin:** I want to read "Animal Farm".  Is it good?

**mydracomalfoy:** I finally got my act together and saw HP3, and I was completely in denial throughout the entire movie because I had to admit that Draco looked MAD SEXY!! :-D  In any case, thank so much for reviewing, I love ya!

**singin'-newsies-goil:** I love you.  Have I told you that?  Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Shadowlands:** Yes.  A sneeze.  :-)

**Madison Square:** "guitar guitar guitar guitar mom MOM shit." LMAO!  Omg I like fell over, I love you!!  Thanks for reviewing! :-D

**Glimmer:** HAHAHA!  You crack me up. :-D  Thanks so much for the review, I love ya!  (Note: re-stylized — according to my spell-check, it is not a word.  Glimm: WELL IT IS NOW!)

**studentnumber24601:** Aah, thank you!!  I changed the summary, and now I feel safe again, lol.  Thanks for reviewing, I love ya!

**SpotLover421:** Oh yeah.  YOU MUST UPDATE TJORH NOW OR ELSE I SHALL BE VERY VERY UPSET!!  (Wow, that was _very_ intimidating...)  lol, thanks so much for reviewing!!

**Sapphy:** I hope you know that half my reviewers want me dead because I've kind of made you Racetrack's unofficial girlfriend in "The Island".  (So, technically, Race's family _is_ yours thought marriage, lol.)  WOO HOO AEROSMITH!!  Thanks for reviewing, I love ya!

**Liams Kitten:** IT'S (it was) YOU'RE BIRTHDAY?!?  AAH!  You know, I'm going right now to dedicate this chapter to you.  WOO HOO!  ((throws confetti))  All right, I did it, now my conscience is cleared.  YOU ARE A NUT.  Thanks SO MUCH for reviewing, I love ya!

**i-nv-u50:** Whoa.  Dude.  Not to say that my "foreshadowing", if you can call it that, wasn't blatantly obvious, but you got it all into one sentence!  You, my dear, are good.  ((gives you a muffin)) Thanks so much for the review!!

-----

**Author's Note:** Not the best update ... but it was fun.  I just came back from a sort of field trip at Canobie Lake Park, and I had so much sugar, you have NO IDEA.  I was seriously bouncing around the parking lot singing Moulin Rouge with Fishead.  Half the people there — nah, make it 75% — looked ready to kill us. :-D Anyway, thanks to all reviewers, I love you all to death!!

-Saturday


	12. Chapter Eleven: Racetrack

**Author's Note:** Ordinarily I wouldn't have updated so quickly, but Alexandra Paige wanted it in by Saturday (the day, not the writer) — and, as an adoring fan, I felt obliged to do that she wanted. In any case, here it is: the last chapter. ((starts sobbing hysterically))

**Disclaimer:** I own Adrienne, Bambi, Angelo, Gino, Lia, Mama and Papa Higgins, Mrs. Conlon, Krypto, and Louie. All song lyrics belong to their respective owners, and the newsies belong to Disney.

-----

I felt incredibly stupid as I walked into the auditorium. Mama had insisted on bundling me up in a cozy sweater, a thick jacket, a pair of Gino's old snow pants, and a matching wool scarf, hat, and mittens. "It's Decembeer!" she had cried. "Dere's snow all 'round, you gotsta be nice an' warm or else you gonna get even a-sicker!" Many of my friends from school gave me odd looks when I entered the room, but I flipped them off (or tried to through my mittens).

Yes, I was still incredibly sick. Too sick to play guitar in front of an entire audience, but not too sick to come and watch Spot play.

I was late, but it didn't matter because The Jaywalkers were going to be last anyway. A terrible band was playing a terrible angsty love song right now — I could almost _see_ Itey cringing backstage as the pianist pounded out those wrong notes...

The song ended, and Jack Kelly took the stage. I smiled to myself; I have a bit of a thing for him. He's a concerned global citizen, a straight-A student, and a complete nerd — in a very cute way, of course. He smiled sadly at the band as they filed off the stage to a bit of less-than-lukewarm applause before taking the microphone.

_My god, there are _reindeer _on his sweater,_ I thought, eyebrows shooting up.

"Let's hear it for Sunbeam," said Jack rather unenthusiastically.

Sunbeam. Shoot me.

Jack ran a hand through his hair and pushed his rimless spectacles up the bridge of his nose, waiting for the almost nonexistent applause to die down. "Our next band is an original from our very own Brentwood High," he said, looking much more excited now that Sunbeam was out of his line of sight. "Unfortunately, Anthony Higgins, the guitarist, was unable to make it today, so he's being filled in by Gabriel Conlon, a Brooklynite — please don't give him a hard time about that," he added, grinning at the crowd. "Anyway, give it up for The Jaywalkers!"

It was the weirdest experience ever, watching my own band going on stage without me to wild applause. They didn't look too nervous — well, except Skittery, but that kid was _always_ nervous.

Someone tapped my shoulder. I didn't feel it at first through all of my layers, but eventually I realized what was going on and turned around.

"Heya Racey-baby, why aren't you up there with your band?" asked Bambi, and she pouted delicately at me. "I wanted to see you play!"

"I'm sick!" I said grumpily.

"Ooh, poor baby!" she moaned.

"Shh!" I hissed and turned back to the stage. Blink was still chewing gum. Aw shit, Blink, spit it out — Spot, tell him to spit it out!!! Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about...

"Ooh, isn't that your friend Gabriel?" asked Bambi excitedly. "He's _cuuuute!_ I didn't know he played the guitar, is he any good? Well, duh, of _course_ he's good! I mean why else would he be up there? But no one could ever compare to you, of course, Racey-ba—"

"Bambi!" said Adrienne happily, coming over to us. "I'm Adrienne James, we've met before. _Lovely _seeing you again, I must say! Care to join Specs and Dutchy and me? I'm sure Dutchy would just _love_ to talk to you..."

Bambi didn't look too keen on the idea, but Adrienne didn't give her the chance to answer. She dragged her off to where Dutchy was doing an impression of Pee Wee Herman for a growing crowd of six-year-olds, humming merrily. After a minute she looked back and winked at me. "Thank you," I mouthed. She grinned.

"Okay," said Blink into the microphone once the band was set up. "Hi, my name's Kid Blink Parker, and this is Mush Meyers, Skittery Goorjian, Itey Maldonado, and Spot Conlon. Don't mind the nicknames, we're just trying to sound more interesting."

I cupped my mittened hands around my mouth and whooped loudly. Spot looked over at me, squinting (I think he was trying to figure out who the hell the weirdo in the snow pants was), and then after a minute his jaw dropped. I wasn't sure whether it was pleasant surprise or complete mortification that I had shown up dressed like this, but at the moment I didn't want to know.

"Okay..." Blink looked back at Mush, who shrugged and pulled his bass guitar over his shoulder. "I guess we're just gonna start." He looked over at Spot and smiled. "This song's called 'Basket Case', and we wrote it about three months ago. Okay — one, two, three, four—"

At first it was just Blink and Spot, and I had to admit they were great together. "_Do you have the time to listen to me whine about nothing and everything all at once? I am one of those melodramatic fools, neurotic to the bone, no doubt about it ... Sometimes I give myself the creeps, sometimes my mind plays tricks on me ... It all keeps adding up, I think I'm cracking up ... Am I just paranoid? I'm just stoned."_

Then the bass, drums, and keyboard started in, kinda giving me shivers (something I didn't think possible, considering all that I was wearing). I liked watching the way Spot played; he was kind of hugging his baby to his lower stomach, never taking his eyes off her. His fingers moved across the strings with a grace I had never thought possible for him, and every so often he would flick his head to get his shaggy bangs out of his eyes.

_Maaaajor _turn-on.

_"I went to a shrink to analyze my dreams; she says it's lack of sex that's bringing me down ... I went to a whore, she said my life's a bore and quit my whining 'cause it's bringing her down..." _sang Blink, kind of hopping up and down. Kinda reminded me of a male Gwen Stefani — sometimes he would run around and around the stage without getting the slightest bit out of breath. Go figure.

Skittery didn't look so nervous anymore. He was nodding to the beat a little, hair in his eyes. I could see a couple girls in the front sort of swooning over him.

_"Sometimes I give myself the creeps ... Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me ... It all keeps adding up, I think I'm cracking up ... Am I just paranoid? I'm just stoned."_

Blink bounced over to Mush and sat down next to him, leaning against his back. _"Grasping to control, so you better hold on..."_

The song was a big hit, despite the fact that the last band had been TERRIBLE, and despite the fact that my opinion was completely biased. The audience burst into applause when they were done, and Spot looking like he was about to piss in his pants because he was so happy.

"Thank you," said Blink rather breathlessly. (Oh, so he CAN lose his breath!) "Let's hear it for Spot! We've only rehearsed this song once with him, and I think he pulled it off pretty damn well, don't you?" The crowd roared and Spot grinned. "Our next song is an instrumental piece our good friend Racetrack wrote last month. We play it here in his honor, 'cause he's sick in bed."

"NO, I'M HERE FOR YA, BLINK!" I yelled. "I FEEL LIKE CRAP BUT I'M HERE!"

He looked over at me, surprised. "That you, Race? You look like a marshmallow." He shaded his eyes with his hand, grinning. "All right, scratch what I just said; we play it here in his honor, 'cause he dragged himself all the way over here even though he feels like crap. HOORAY!"

They began to play, and Blink sat down on the edge of the stage and took out his harmonica. [1] I watched Spot, my jaw dropping lower and lower every second until it became in danger of becoming unhinged. If he had been good in the last song, he was bloody _brilliant_ in this one. I simply could not believe that he had only practiced it for a couple of hours that afternoon. Asshole, he was better than I was!

I glanced over at Bambi. She was staring off into space, eyes glazing over, as Dutchy whispered nonstop in her ear. HAHA! Take THAT, you leech! Note to self: give Adrienne, Specs, and Dutchy rib-crushing hugs at next meeting.

The applause after the instrumental was, if possible, even louder than the applause for "Basket Case" had been. Blink did a sort of happy dance on stage and hugged Spot around the middle before turning to the audience and giving them a beautiful bow.

Jack jogged onto the stage and did a sort of second-grade secret handshake with Blink. "Let's hear it for the Jaywalkers!" he yelled, and we all clapped until our hands were numb. "Adrienne James will be in the lobby if you want to buy their CD—"

"Shit!" Adrienne swore and sprinted into the lobby.

"—and hopefully they'll come back to the next Jamnesty. On behalf of all of the members of Amnesty International, I'd like to thank everyone for coming. Have a good night!" He winked in a very nerdy way and put the microphone back into its stand.

All around me people were getting up to leave, and I had to fight against the crowd to get up to the stage. "YOU WERE AWESOME!" I yelled, tackling Spot into a hug. "I can't BELIEVE you EVER doubted that you could do this, you were FABULOUS!"

"Racetrack, baby, you look like one gigantic pillow," said Itey, poking me in the ribs.

Spot tried to say something too, but no one could understand him because his face was squashed into my chest. "Hey Race?" said Skittery. "I don't think he can breathe..."

"Oh."

I let go of Spot, and he stepped back, rubbing his neck. "Listen, Race, I appreciate your support, but next time PLEASE try not to hug me like that," he said, grinning.

"You really were fantastic, though," said Mush honestly.

"Man, I wasn't THAT great."

"Y'know what? You suck at being modest."

Spot laughed and bent over to put his baby back into his case. "Man, when _are_ you gonna buy that thing?" asked Blink.

"I dunno..."

"'Cause we were thinking..." He looked at me, and I nodded. Spot stood up, eyebrow raised. "Well, you're pretty damn good. And since Itey and Mush are graduating this year, we're gonna be a couple of guys short."

"And we're a band that strictly believes that there is no such thing as too many guitarists," added Mush proudly.

"...What are you trying to say?" asked Spot tentatively.

"We want you to join the band," I said bluntly. "You're awesome and we need you."

Spot opened his mouth and then shut it again, astonished. I could almost see the gears turning in his head. On the one hand, he really wanted to join the band and play with us. He loved his guitar, and (in a perfect world) he loved me too, so this would be a great opportunity. On the other hand — Mrs. Eliza Conlon would not be particularly happy with the idea of him playing in a rock band with other teenage boys.

So, which to choose?

He was terrified of his mother, I could tell. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, arms crossed over his chest, tongue poking out of his mouth. She'd never let him join — she'd kill him and then dig him up again and then put him up for adoption. He was scared of disappointing her. I think he was scared of just being _alone_ with her because she had such a volatile personality.

He blinked and looked at me, and my heart sank to my knees. He wasn't going to do it. He couldn't bring himself to upset his mom.

Spot put his hands into his pockets, usually a defensive maneuver for him. "My mom would kill me," he said.

Shit.

He tilted his head to the side, looking at me. "I know my mom would kill me," he repeated, "but I've been thinking about The Cricket in Times Square. You know that part when everyone's messing with Chester's life and he just wants to get out and back to Connecticut? And then Tucker asks Harry, and he's like: _'My opinion,' he said, 'is that it's Chester's life and he should do what he wants.' _Remember, Race?"

I nodded slowly.

"So I've decided," he continued dramatically, "that right now I couldn't care less about what my mom thinks. If she wants to ... to try to screw with my life, that's her problem. It's time I started making my own decisions." Then he pulled his hand out of his pocket and handed me his wallet. "I'm buying my baby today, and if Mom has a problem with that — well, she has to take that up with me. I'm in the band."

I stared at him for a second, completely nonplussed. Then I did something that was both very brave and very stupid: I leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.

And I realized that for a paranoid lunatic, Spot Conlon kisses very well.

"I KNEW IT! I _KNEW_ IT!" Itey yelled, hopping happily around the stage and grabbing Mush around the waist. "I KNEW they liked each other like that, I'm a psychic genius!!"

Mush played the theme song for "That's So Raven" on his bass guitar for a second, grinning. Spot pulled away. "Honey, it's our song!" he said in a falsetto voice before pulling me back into another explosive kiss.

"AHH!"

I looked up to see Bambi standing there, her face chalk white. "What are you DOING?? Racetrack Higgins, I thought you LIKED me!!"

I put a mittened hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bambi, I'm _so_ sorry. It's not you, it's me. It's just that ... I'm madly in love with Gabriel Conlon. I hope that you and I can still be friends." Haha, I love clichés...

Bambi stared at me. "Are you out of your _mind?_" she demanded.

"Y'know, I'm starting to think I am."

"AUGH! I HOPE I NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!" she yelled, giving me the finger and storming off.

"That'd be a nice change of pace," said Spot cheerfully. "Funny, she never struck me as the type who would flip people off."

"Well you never struck me as the type who would ever stand up to your mom," I answered, smiling at him.

"I never coulda done it without you, sweetie!" he squealed.

"Aww Spot," I giggled and kissed him for a third time.

"Y'know, I can never tell if they're kidding or seriously talking like that," said Skittery darkly. "It's kind of like listening to a couple of Furbies talking to each other or something. C'mon, who's gonna help me get my drums off the stage?"

Spot and I stayed there on the stage well after the rest of the band had left, and Jack had to come and pull us apart because the auditorium was closing. "I swear to god, you're gonna wake up tomorrow with a horrible case of the flu," I said as we bundled up to go back outside into the snow.

Spot looked at me, flashing that characteristic devilish smile. "Y'know what?" he said, the corner of his mouth tugging up. "I really don't care."

-----

**_Shoutouts!!!_**

**__**

**nani at 12 o'clock:** I would LOVE to read your story!! ((is literally twitching with excitement)) E-mail it to me any time and I shall read it ASAP! HOORAY! Anyway, thanks SO MUCH for reviewing, I think you reviewed like ever chapter! :-D I love you!

**Alexandra Paige:** I hope you appreciate that I worked my butt off writing this for you, lol. :-D Thanks SO MUCH for reviewing, I love you!! (And yes, I did appreciate your long-ass review. It was fantastic. I shall get you the spleen I owe you as soon as possible.)

**splashey:** HOORAY, THE SPLASH SAW MIRACLE!! I love that movie to death, I swear. Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing, I love you! (And...do you mind signing your last review for this story as "The Splash"? Just to make me happy? ((smiles shyly)))

**Shadowlands:** Wow, that was weird. But funny. And I think I fell over. I love you SO MUCH, thank you for reviewing!!!

**GLimmer Conlon O'Leary:** "Get a grib". HAHAHAHA! Omg that was great ... Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing, I love you!!

**Madison Square:** "Ah, the joys of Sprace." Man, I'm gonna miss your bizarre reactions to this story. ((sniffs sentimentally)) Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing, I love you!!

**Repeat:** God, I wish _I _had a little brother like Angelo/Dot. All I've got is a six-year-old sister, and all she cares about are unicorns and pink and purple and other boring girly stuff. SHEESH! Ah well, at least I've succeeded in brainwashing her into liking U2. (Insert evil cackle here.) Anyway, I love you, thank you SO MUCH for reviewing!

**Aelia O'Hession:** YES! I finally managed to spell your name right without looking! WOO HOO! ((hops around happily with Itey)) Sure, I'll take your younger brother. You can have my younger sister, if you like unicorns and glitter. :-D Yes, Bill and Ted are gods. I love them to death. ((oozy sigh)) Anyway, I love you, thanks so much for reviewing!!!

**mydracomalfoy:** I liked it when Draco got hurt and whimpered like a girl. That cracked me up. :-) Anyway, thanks SO MUCH for reviewing, I love you!

**Coin:** HAHAHA! Ohh I love you ... Thanks so much for reviewing, and I shall read "Animal Farm" after I finish "Lord of the Flies" (which is sounding uncannily like "The Island"; I am very creeped out).

**Erin Go Bragh:** OK! I UPDATED!! HAPPY?? Lol, thanks for reviewing, I love you!

**singin'-newsies-goil:** J'adore parler francaise! Est-ce que tu parles francais aussi? Ou espagnol? (I'll know the answer to that depending on whether you understand it or not, lol. I'm such a nerd...) Anyway, thanks SO MUCH for reviewing, I love you! Now UPDATE all of your stories before I impose some form of medieval torture on you! MWAHAHAHAHA!

**Strawberri Shake:** Ack, I can't even write back. I love you so much. (lol, I'm such a freak...) Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing!! :-D

**Scout73:** ((deep voice)) ((takes out saber)) I dub thee ... Pot!! HAHAHAHAHA! Ohh I'm so TIRED ... Don't feel bad, Spot has ADD too. ((cuddles him)) Thanks SO MUCH for reviewing, I love you!

**SpotLover421:** HAHA! That's what I love about you, Braids; you remember stupid stuff like my hyperventilating over your story. :-D Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing, I love you!! ((tackles you))

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[1] Am I the only person completely turned on by the idea of Blink playing the harmonica? Or do I just have strange ... is that the correct place to use the term "libidos"? I only know it from "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and that's not exactly a Webster's Dictionary. I shall keep you informed.

-----

**Author's Note:** ((dabs at eyes with tissue)) Ohh, my faithful reviewers. How I love you so! Thank you all SO MUCH, I could NEVER have finished this without you! ((bursts into tears))

-Saturday


	13. Epilogue: Adrienne

**_Epilogue _**

-----

I knew it! I _knew_ they'd make me narrate the epilogue! Oh, the horrors of being a sidekick...

There really isn't much left to say, to be honest. Spot and Race have been going out for several years now. The other night they had a small party at Race's house to celebrate their anniversary, and we had an all-night Indiana Jones marathon. I think Dutchy ate more mint chocolate-chip ice cream than the rest of us combined.

Itey and I also got together a few weeks after the Jamnesty, and, as Specs so kindly puts it, "Destruction follows you in your wake wherever you go. I certainly hope you two don't end up going to the same college..."

None of us see much of Bambi anymore; she's been avoiding Racetrack like the devil lately because she's so mad at him. We're all very happy about that.

Surprisingly enough, both Lia and Gino got accepted into Dartmouth College on scholarships. Their mother nearly had a heart attack; she got all super-Italian on them and went around kissing both their cheeks and singing opera and making them pasta. They've taken to hiding in their rooms and listening to Nirvana a lot.

We all had our doubts, but somehow, Spot came out in one piece after confronting his mother. They talked things out, and in the end they developed a sort of system to make everything work out. Race was so proud of him, he bought him a special edition of The Cricket in Times Square and they had an adorable little book group moment together.

Angelo, by the way, has been insisting that everyone call him Dot. We have yet to find out why.


End file.
